Rock of Ages: Despite a slowdown in visits from offshore vessels, Gibdock, a shipyard located at one of the major crossroads of world shipping, continues to bustle

摘要

One of the famed pillars of Hercules marking the entrance to the Mediterranean is found in Gibraltar, which sits at the head of some of the world's most crucial shipping lanes. This leaves Gibdock, the Rock's sole shipyard, with no shortage of custom as it can offer year-round shiprepairwith minimal diversion to vessels traversing the busy Atlantic and Mediterranean shipping routes. First proposed by Captain Augustus Phillimore, hero of numerous forgotten wars like the Carlist conflicts and the First Opium War, the notion of a shipyard in Gibraltarwas initially dismissed by the Admiralty in London. It was 22 years before the scheme was finally approved, with the dockyard opening in 1895 for the use of the Royal Navy.