SHIPBUILDER Vosper Thorny-croft comes one step closer to severing its final, historic ties with Southampton when it completes its switch along the coast to Portsmouth this week.

Almost 6,000 pieces of machinery have been carted out of the city and along the M27 and the costs of the whole move are estimated at £10m.

One piece of equipment, familiar to Southampton workers, which is making the trip is the 19th century shell plate rolling machine, which has still not been bettered by a modern machine.

Although some of the equipment is long in the tooth, the company has actually created a £50m facility, said to be among the most advanced shipbuilding facilities in the world. It introduces a high degree of automation in the construction of vessels.

The site consists of two new large assembly halls and a wide range of workshops and other buildings which have been refurbished, notably the 10,000 square metre steel production hall where, again, many of the processes will be automated.

Bruce Balchin, VT's project director for the development, said: "We will now be building ship sections on a level surface, which is far more efficient than building on an angled slipway."

VT, which recorded pre-tax profits of £41.5m against a turnover of £565m, says the facility, due to be officially opened by a government defence minister on Monday, will increase production by up to 20 per cent.

VT's landmark shipyard at Woolston will close in March next year with up to 1,000 skilled personnel being relocated. Already, 500 of the Southampton staff have moved to the Portsmouth facility.

Initially, the Portsmouth facility will be used to build the Royal Navy's new Type 45 destroyer but there is potential to expand facilities on the 33-acre site for the proposed new aircraft carrier programme.

"The Portsmouth shipbuilding facility will place us in a strong position to play a major role in future RN programmes and to improve our shipbuilding services to export customers," said VT group chief executive Paul Lester.

VT, which has its headquarters in Hedge End, employs 10,000 people worldwide.