The UK marine industry is set for growth by 2025, driven by increasing domestic and international demand. However, the sector faces challenges with the accessibility and affordability of high-performance materials for shipbuilding, maintenance, and marine infrastructure. As sustainability and stricter environmental regulations take priority, there’s a growing need for eco-friendly, corrosion-resistant materials.
Supply chain disruptions, fluctuating costs, and long lead times further complicate material sourcing. At ASD, we have positioned ourselves as a key supply chain partner across the naval, leisure, superyacht, marine commercial, and offshore renewables sectors. With shipping responsible for 3% of UK greenhouse gas emissions, the push for sustainable practices is crucial, especially as shipping emissions must meet the UK’s net-zero targets.
In this update, we’ll explore how ASD supports the marine industry’s metal, safety, and sustainability needs.
Services and Products for the Marine and Shipbuilding Industry
When it comes to metal requirements, ASD can support the UK marine and shipbuilding industry, including naval and commercial crafts, for both new build and refit projects with the highest quality products and services. These include:
Marine Products & Grades
- Carbon Lloyds Grade A (3.2 dual certified) – plate / bar (Interplate 937 primed)
- Carbon DH36 / EH36 – plate / bar
- Carbon S355J2 – plate / sheet / bar / sections / tube / pipe
- Aluminium 5083 – plate
- Aluminium 6082 – sheet / extrusions
- Stainless Steel 316 / 316L – plate / sheet / bar / sections / tube / pipe
- Duplex Stainless Steel DX 2205 or S32205 – quarto plate
- Alucore® – plate
- Bi-metallic or Composite – plate
Tailored Plate Supply
ASD can now supply shipbuilding plates to meet customers’ specifications precisely through our LDL mill, which enables us to produce and source high-quality shipbuilding steels internally, within our Hierros Añón group. This ensures greater flexibility and faster lead times while maintaining strict quality standards for marine applications.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is an excellent choice for marine environments, especially for vessels that are becoming lighter, stronger, and easier to clean and maintain. Duplex stainless steel’s high strength allows for material thickness to be reduced by up to 50%, enabling the creation of lightweight structures that require less stainless steel. Its superior corrosion resistance, combined with its light weight and its strength, makes stainless steel also ideal for safe and efficient transportation. At ASD, we work in partnership with Outokumpu to provide high-quality stainless steel marine solutions.
Alucore®
ALUCORE® is an aluminium sandwich-type panel that plays an important role in the shipbuilding industry due to fire protection standards and the required weight reduction.
Thanks to its very light weight, combined with its economic workability, the composite panel is used particularly in the interior of the ship for ceilings, walls, or furniture and in the outer area for balcony partitioning. In all the applications, the material offers optimum strength values at the same time.
Bi-Metallic Plates
Bi-metallic or composite plates are composed of two dissimilar metals and provide the best-clad solution when it comes to corrosion resistance, temperature uniformity, electrical conductivity, cost-effectiveness, strength, and lightweight design.
Bi-metallic plates are available in a wide array of compatible and non-compatible metals, with a number of metal combinations possible.
Processing Services
Our extensive processing portfolio includes:
- Flat laser cutting of plates & sheets in all metal grades
- Water jet cutting of plates & sheets in all metal grades (with material-designated machines to avoid cross-contamination)
- 320-tonne press brake bending of plates & sheets in all metal grades
- Multiple long product laser cutting equipment: tube, pipe, section, channel, angles
- Precision sawing & drilling: plate, section, tube, pipe, channel, angles
- Shot blasting & painting: section, tube, pipe, channel, angles
What Makes ASD an Ideal Partner for the Marine Industry?
Total Metals Management
Marine and shipbuilding projects are often complex and demanding, requiring a range of alloys and various value-added processes, all of which must be carefully managed to meet strict deadlines. At ASD, our dedicated team of experts understands the unique needs of the marine sector and works closely with you to manage your orders seamlessly, from acceptance to delivery.
ASD’s SHEQ Policy
Companies operating in the high technological sectors demand high-quality materials and high-quality standards. The team at ASD are dedicated to delivering excellence when it comes to safety, health, environment, and quality (SHEQ). We recognise the importance of maintaining company certifications and are committed to continually improving performance and developing our integrated management systems and processes, which embrace high standards of health and safety, environmental protection, and quality management.
Building on that commitment, at ASD we deliver high-quality solutions tailored to the unique demands of the marine industry. As an ISO 9001:2015 and NHSS3B-certified company, we ensure top-tier quality management. Our UKCA and CE accreditations (BS EN 1090-1 and EN 1090-2 to execution class 4) allow us to meet stringent regulatory standards.
We are also Fit For Nuclear certified, highlighting our commitment to safety and reliability. With Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 22301 certifications, we ensure secure operations and uninterrupted service. All materials are sourced from trusted Western European mill supply chains, providing full traceability with 3.1 and 3.2 certifications.
Sustainability at ASD
The marine industry is committed to achieving net-zero emissions, with the UK government mandating that shipping emissions must meet the country’s overall net-zero targets by 2050. At ASD, we are aligned with these sustainability goals. We are dedicated to reducing our environmental impact and supporting our clients in meeting their sustainability objectives.
As part of our commitment, we are BS 6001 certified for responsible sourcing, ensuring that all our materials are ethically sourced and meet strict environmental standards. You can read more about our sustainability initiatives in our Sustainability Statement.
Get in touch with our team to learn more about our products and services for the marine and shipbuilding industry here.