Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has described a £1.6bn deal to build support ships for the Royal Navy as a “feather in the cap” for Devon’s Appledore shipyard.
A consortium involving the yard’s owners Harland and Wolff, Bath-based marine design firm BMT and the UK arm of Spanish state shipbuilder Navantia has been selected by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as its preferred bidder for the contract.
Heralded by the government as a “significant boost” for the UK industry, the agreement will see three 216-metre-long vessels built at Harland and Wolff’s Appledore and Belfast yards.
The MoD said the consortium, known as Team Resolute, had pledged to invest £77m into infrastructure at British shipyards.
It is expected that 1,200 jobs could be created, including hundreds of graduate and apprentice opportunities, as well as 800 further jobs across the industry’s supply chain.
The contract is subject to final Treasury and ministerial approval.
On a visit to the Appledore yard, Mr Wallace told reporters: “I was determined with this contract, when we put it out to tender, the bidders had to commit to investing in the yards and the people, it’s not just about their bottom line.
“It’s ultimately about how do we make Appledore and Belfast match fit for other contracts when Navy contracts are no longer there. I was delighted that the skill base we found here on Appledore can do that, it’s a great yard with a great history and I’ll be delighted to see some huge parts of the ships being built here.”
The ships will supply munitions, stores and provisions to the Navy’s aircraft carriers, destroyers and frigates deployed at sea.
The MoD said the “majority” of the blocks and modules for the ships will be constructed at Belfast and Appledore, with components manufactured at centres in Methil in Fife and Arnish on the Isle of Lewis.
Work will also take place at Navantia’s shipyard in Cadiz, Spain, in a collaboration the MoD said would allow for "key skills" and technology to be transferred from a "world-leading" auxiliary shipbuilder.
Labour and trade unions have expressed anger the entire project is not being done in the UK. Shadow defence secretary John Healey said: “This decision is a betrayal of British jobs and British business.
“Ministers have rejected a big opportunity to boost our UK economy and strengthen our sovereign industrial capability at a time when threats are increasing.”
Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect union, said it was “a terrible, short-sighted decision” and a missed opportunity to support the whole of UK shipbuilding.
“At a time when the economy is struggling it is short-sighted in the extreme to go with a bid that takes most of the high-value work and intellectual property overseas,” he said.
“Spain will be delighted with the government’s approach to levelling up. It is now essential that the government does all it can to maximise the small amount of work going to UK yards.”
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