Building three naval supply ships in Britain would create or save 6,700 jobs, MPs have been told.
Campaigners have stepped up demands for the Fleet Solid Support vessels to be made in the UK, amid mounting fears the Government will give some of the work to foreign firms.
MPs and unions want a British consortium, known as Team UK, to win the £1.5billion contract.
Opening a Commons debate, Birkenhead MP Mick Whitley said: “If the Government are serious about supporting shipbuilding, Team UK must be awarded the bid.
“The benefits are obvious - instead of allowing non-domestic firms to benefit from billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, we could create or secure at least 6,700 jobs in British industry, including 2,000 in the shipyards, while seeing £285million of the total spend returned to Treasury coffers through income tax, national insurance contributions and lower welfare payments.”
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The 40,000-tonne Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels will resupply Royal Navy warships, including the £6.2bn Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, with food, ammunition and explosives.
Four consortia were each given £5million by the Ministry of Defence in September to develop their bids as the Government began the “competitive procurement phase”.
The shortlist includes Team UK, involving Babcock and BAE Systems; Mumbai firm Larsen & Toubro, which describes itself as “India's premier infrastructure developer”; Dutch firm Damen Group; and Team Resolute, led by Spanish shipbuilding firm Navantia.
Mr Whitley urged Defence Minister Jeremy Quin “to do everything in his power to ensure that Fleet Solid Support ships and all future defence projects in the pipeline are built and designed in their entirety in the UK ”.
The Labour MP added: “That is the very least that our shipyards deserve.”
Mr Quin said the deal for the vessels “will encourage sustainable investment to ensure the long-term future of our domestic shipyards”.
He added: “While we welcome the opportunity to learn from international best practice, we have also been very clear that a substantial proportion of the build, including integration, will be carried out in the UK.
“We have had a very positive response from industry, and each of the four consortia bidding for the programme includes substantial UK involvement.
“The bidders are also required to set out plans to help improve the capacity and capability of the UK shipbuilding sector, as well as how they will contribute to wider social value.”
Unions urged the Government to commit to giving all the work to British yards.
GMB national officer Ross Murdoch said: "It's all well and good the Prime Minister boldly trumpeting that we are ‘bringing shipbuilding home’.
"But the Government still refuses to clarify how much of the Fleet Solid Support ship build, including integration, will be carried out in the UK.
"Despite now rightly classifying FSS as warships - thus allowing procurement to be restricted to the UK procurement - this vital project is still open to potential offshoring.
"Leaving our proud shipbuilding heritage to the vagaries of the market is hardly bringing shipbuilding home."
Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions general secretary Ian Waddell said: "Shipbuilding and our shipbuilding communities must be a central plank of the Government's levelling-up strategy as well as our strategic and sovereign capability.
“FSS provides the opportunity to pump prime those communities outside of the South East of England and end regional inequality.
“While we welcome comments about a 'substantial proportion of the build' and a commitment to social value in the tendering process, what is needed now is clarity and transparency in order for our shipbuilders to understand exactly what that means and make the investment in facilities and skills needed to deliver the National Shipbuilding Strategy."
