Goole Shipbuilding and Repairing Co

The Goole Shipbuilding and Repairing Co. was founded by the Craggs family in 1901 and was based on the Dutch River at Goole in Yorkshire, England. The yard had a towering reputation for building coasters, tugs and trawlers for the Hull and Grimsby fishing fleets.

Shipbuilding

• 1900s - The yard initially made paddle minesweepers for the Admiralty. The company moved to a more spacious yard in 1917 so that it could launch ships directly onto the Ouse.
• 1920s - Throughout the 1920s the yard built ever longer ships for both overseas and home companies. The yard was financially restructured in 1927 due to poor trading conditions
• 1930s - The yard's main activity was repair work as it was seriously affected by the Depression. meanwhile the Craggs family acquired two more yards, one of which was Cleland's (Successors) Ltd in 1934. The yard made coasters, dumb barges, deep sea trawlers and defence vessels. In addition, Goole's made the yacht Bluebird for Sir Malcolm Campbell who was a high speed racer.
• World War II - Output consisted of minesweeping trawlers, boom defence vessels, salvage craft, tugs, twin screw launches, waterboats, four "VIC" type Clyde puffers, 26 dry cargo coasters, 12 coastal tankers. In addition a number of coasters were built for private customers too. Repairs also played an important role in the yard's business. activity.
• 1950s - The main customer was the Everard company and the yard was involved in constructing a number of dry cargo-coasters and coastal tankers for them. This was one of many sets of orders for coasters for many companies around the world. Trawlers, colliers, minesweepers and motorships were also significant tasks completed by the company.
• 1960s - The yard started to specialise in stern trawlers. In 1967, the Craggs family sold the Goole and Cleland's yard to Swan Hunter Shipbuilders Ltd and it became part of their Small Ship Division. The Goole Yard then received work orders via swan Hunter for large tankers, stern trawlers, sand dredgers and dry cargo coasters.
• 1970s - In July 1977 the yard became a member of British Shipbuilders Ltd. Everard remained a steady customer for dry cargo coasters and tankers.
• 1980s - The yard's name was changed to Goole Shipbuilders Ltd in 1982, coasters, oil rig supply vessels and a coastal tanker were the last ships built under the Goole name. The yard closed on 27th April 1984. However, it was briefly resurrected in late 1984 by Cochrane Shipbuilders of Selby who made four further ships, the last of which was launched in 1987. After this, the yard has mainly been used for shipbreaking.

Sources of Information

British Shipbuilding Yards. 3 vols by Norman L. Middlemiss