A Tyneside shipyard has missed out on a lucrative £1.6bn contract to build support vessels for the Royal Navy.
The Government's announcement that a consortium including Spanish firm Navantia will take the work, with much of the production taking place in Belfast, means A&P Tyne will lose out. An official press release suggests 1,200 direct jobs would be created by the order, with the promise of £77m investment for Harland & Wolff's Northern Ireland yard.
A&P said it was disappointed with the decision but remained hopeful of winning future tenders delivered by the National Shipbuilding Strategy. In March, the former Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan visited A&P's Hebburn yard to launch the strategy which the Government said it hoped would spur a "shipbuilding rennaissance".
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David McGinley, chief executive officer of A&P Group, said: "Whilst we are naturally disappointed that A&P will not benefit from the delivery of the FSS programme, we recognise that the National Shipbuilding Strategy is an ongoing process and that further tenders will be awarded. We look forward to competing and winning some of this vital work, which will continue to support our workforce and our shipbuilding supply chain across the North East."
The contract will also see involvement from Bath-based BMT who will design the ships that will eventually supply munitions, stores and provisions to the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers, destroyers and frigates deployed at sea. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: "This news will be a significant boost to the UK shipbuilding industry. By selecting Team Resolute, the Ministry of Defence has chosen a proposal which includes £77 million of investment into the UK shipyards, creating around 2,000 UK jobs, and showcasing cutting-edge British design.
"Building on ambitions laid out in the National Shipbuilding Strategy, this contract will bolster technology transfer and key skills from a world-renowned shipbuilder, crucial in the modernisation of British shipyards."
GMB union, which previously raised fears the work would go overseas, have called on the Government to define how much of the work will be delivered from the UK. Matt Roberts, GMB national officer said: "Following today’s announcement, the Defence Secretary must reassure GMB members and the public that all UK shipyards will get the work they need to thrive - no UK region or nation left behind.
“Let’s not forget it’s only a few short years since Harland & Wolff, set to benefit from this bid, was occupied by workers to save the yard from closure. Ever since the last RFA order debacle from the Tory government back in 2012, we have campaigned for all of the build work on FSS to be done in the UK and for each shipyard in every nation and region of the country to get decent packages of work from this big government order.
"Through GMB’s campaigning, we have come a long way from the Tories sending the MARS tankers build to South Korea. Ministers finally concede a 'significant' amount of the FSS work will be done at home. The problem is that they don't define ‘significant’ by volume or value and they don't tell us what guarantees or enforceability there is. Due diligence must be rigorous.
"The next stage of our campaign will be to ensure that all promises made by the winning bidders are kept and the Government invests in - and protects - all of our shipyards for our future sovereign defence capability."
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