Dales Marine Services Ltd has announced the appointment of David Gray as Chief Naval Architect, which will add to and broaden Dales Marine’s services portfolio.

Gray brings to the business a wealth of experience and expertise in ship and yacht design, culminating from over 30 years of industry experience, supporting defence and commercial shipping communities, and being a skilled CEO for several design-led companies.

Gray’s areas of specialities cover the design and development of new vessels and conversions, including ships & floating structures, large yachts, and small commercial vessels such as workboats, dredgers, fast ferries, and other special service craft.

In addition, Gray has a keen interest in electric propulsion, hydrofoils, roll stability and stabilisers, and stability on larger vessels, including inclining tests and the development of full stability documentation to class approval. In 2017 he spearheaded and led a team to win the Monaco Solar & Energy Endurance Race in both 2018 and 2019 with two newly designed & built high-power electric boats.

As Chief Naval Architect, Gray will be working closely with Dales engineers based at its facilities in Aberdeen, Greenock, Leith, and Troon. In addition, he will be actively involved in a range of projects, including the design, construction, repair, conversion and decommissioning of crafts and structures, applying his experience and expertise in supporting a range of projects from ferries to merchant ships, support vessels, workboats, and more.

Andrew Malcolm, BD Manager at Dales Marine, said: “David’s appointment comes at an ideal time for the business. Following the success of our recent workboat build, the Realt na Farraige, we are exploring further opportunities for future builds.

“Having David’s breadth of expertise in-house will be invaluable in enabling us to take on future work scopes for vessel alternations, vessel build and much more.” 

Dales Marine is also pleased to announce the promotion of Kevin Paterson to Contracts Director; Kevin has been with the company for over 16 years and will continue to manage contracts and commercial teams in the business.

Michael Milne, CEO at Dales Marine Services, said: “We are pleased to have David join our team and to announce Kevin’s promotion to Contracts Director, he will continue to play a key role in the management team to develop and grow the business further.

“Having both Kevin’s experience and David’s outstanding expertise on board will support Dales Marine’s growth plans, and further strengthen the services we provide our clients.” 

Dales Marine Services