 The first navy ship was launched from Woolston in 1907 |
Crowds of people gathered at Vosper Thornycroft's Southampton shipyards on Saturday, to see the launch of the last navy vessel built at the site. The Woolston yard is closing, with the work relocating to Portsmouth, following the launch of the HMS Mersey on Saturday.
The closure brings to an end almost 100 years of shipbuilding at the site, with the first navy ship launched from the same yard in 1907.
The 31-acre waterfront site has been sold off for housing and business development over the next 10 years.
New contract
The site stretches hundreds of yards along the River Itchen, opposite Southampton's Ocean Village Marina.
The HMS Mersey is an offshore patrol vessel, intended to patrol fishing grounds and protect oil and gas installations.
Vospers has just won a huge new contract to build part of six new destroyers for the navy.
The work, which will be carried out in Portsmouth, will guarantee jobs for 1,200 people for at least the next decade, and possibly the next 20 years.
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