East Cowes's Wight Shipyard Co has received its Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade, presented by Mrs Susie Sheldon JP, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight.

Receiving it this week, Peter Morton, chief executive of Wight Shipyard Co said: "We are delighted to accept this prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category on behalf of everyone at the yard who are very much part of the re-birth of the British shipbuilding industry.

"We set out to stem the tide of orders going to overseas yards and to capitalise on the local skills that we are fortunate to have on the Isle of Wight."

Wight Shipyard Co was established in 2010, after the restoration of a classic motor cruiser for entrepreneur Sir Charles Dunstone.

Isle of Wight County Press: Mrs Susie Sheldon JP, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight and Wight Shipyard Co's Peter Morton at the Queen's Award presentation.Mrs Susie Sheldon JP, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight and Wight Shipyard Co's Peter Morton at the Queen's Award presentation. Below, Wight Shipyard Co in East Cowes.

Isle of Wight County Press: Wight Shipyard Co in East Cowes.

With an aim to use Isle of Wight suppliers where possible, supporting more than 100 local companies, it has more recently built new Red Jets for Red Funnel and two Thames Clippers.

Its exports include two passenger ferries to Mexico, a 40-metre boat to Austria and four boats to Malta.

Half of Wight Shipyard Co's revenue has come from exports over the last five years.

Looking to the future, the yard has signed an order for two more high speed ferries and two 24m aluminium explorer boats (the Arksen project), as well as building and delivering a hybrid wind farm support vessel.

East Cowes councillor Karl Love was among those at the ceremony and broadcast it on Facebook.

Peter Morton said: "Things look set to go from strength to strength.

"What I am particularly proud about is the team that we have assembled and our commitment to apprenticeships across all trades in the shipbuilding industry means that we have a bright future operating, at the cutting edge of aluminium construction and carbon reduction.

"The skills we are fostering mean we can compete on the international stage as well as domestically and we very much hope that this award will propel our case for building the new Border Force vessels."