Derry’s fourth shipyard - Our Space 24
In 1899, seven years after Bigger’s Yard closed, the machinery was still in good, working condition when the yard re-opened as the Londonderry Shipbuilding & Engineering Co.
Local businesses had created a new company and eventually found Glasgow man William de Russett to re-start Derry’s shipbuilding. Son of a Glasgow shipbuilder, and with Newcastle experience and contacts as well, de Russett got the yard going again.
In the absence of local skilled craftsmen, he had to recruit from Glasgow, and, within the year, he launched his first ship the 3,500 ton steel steamer ‘Parkside’ for Marshall of Liverpool. But this time Derry’s yard was not able to make the engines and boiler. So the construction had to be finished in Glasgow or Newcastle - which would later prove fatal to the company.
1900 saw two steamships launched - ‘Marte’ for the Bilbao-South America run; and ‘Iddo’ for Liverpool’s Elder Dempster line’s West Africa trade. More Elder Dempster orders followed.
In 1901 the ‘Egga’ steamer was launched. But that year it was another steamer the ‘Neritea’ which crippled the yard. The ‘Neritea’ was built for an Austrian firm. But when, as normal, being towed to Newcastle-on-Tyne for its engine to be fitted, it ran into rough weather at the mouth of the Foyle, drifted onto rocks - and was badly damaged.
There followed three years of dispute and expensive litigation with the insurers (now valued at almost £4m).
So after building 10 ships, in 1904 Derry’s shipyard closed again - but would re-open one final time.
‘Thunder & Clatter’ by Gerald Hasson: Guildhall Press 1997; ‘Atlantic Gateway’ by Gavin, Kelly & O’Reilly: Four Courts Press 2009.
