Shipbuilding in the UK.
Posted by: Justyn on 01 February 2006
quote:
Good to see that all shipbuilding hasn't been farmed out abroad. At one time we had the finest shipbuilding facilities in the world, not the case now though.
What happened?
Posted on: 15 February 2006 by Roy T
A short link to the FT gives an idea of what is to be built where and who is to profit.
Next generation of military support ships could be built overseas
By James Boxell
Published: February 15 2006 02:00 | Last updated: February 15 2006 02:00
British military ships could be built in foreign yards for the first time as part of a new plan unveiled by the Ministry of Defence yesterday.
The MoD has appointed a shortlist of three companies that will compete to come up with the best approach to build the next generation of military support ships, which could be worth £2bn-£3bn. However, Britain's biggest naval ship-builders, BAE Systems and VT Group, did not make the list.
Amec, the UK engineering support group, Halliburton's KBR subsidiary and Raytheon, the US defence group, have been shortlisted. Whoever wins the contest will run the project.
The MoD is thought to have wanted a company in charge that was independent of Britain's shipyards.
The MoD previously appointed KBR, the US engineering support group, as "physical integrator" of the £3.5bn project to build two aircraft carriers. But its role was severely curtailed after BAE threatened to sell its British yards unless it had a greater say in the project.
In his recent defence industry white paper, Lord Drayson, defence procurement minister, said there was "no absolute sovereign requirement to construct all our warship hulls onshore".
The issue is sensitive politically because of pressure to safeguard shipyard jobs.
Yesterday, Lord Drayson indicated that the building of the support ships could be the first time some work took place in cheaper foreign yards.
The priority was to take advantage of "efficiency of specialist commercial shipbuilding", he said, but "UK yards and suppliers who can demonstrate these levels of efficiency will be given every opportunity to compete".
British naval shipyards will be working at full capacity for the next few years as they cope with the huge 65,000-tonne carriers and the construction of between six and eight new destroyers.
But one industry insider said the yards would need to be guaranteed enough work in the gap between construction of the two carriers. Some of the new support ships will be fairly simple constructions for the transport of fuel, supplies, ammunition and troops. The MoD is understood to believe that at least some of this work can go overseas.
However, other ships in the fleet will include on-board logistics, equipment repair and helicopter support. Some of this work is likely to be guaranteed to British suppliers because of the need to protect skilled naval engineering in the UK.
The new auxiliary fleet could include between 10 and 12 ships and could be put together by an alliance of companies similar to the one building the carriers.
The MoD also appointed an independent project manager, WS Atkins, on its £14bn programme to build a new fleet of armoured vehicles.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2b95fee0-9dc7-11da-b1c6-0000779e2340.html
Next generation of military support ships could be built overseas
By James Boxell
Published: February 15 2006 02:00 | Last updated: February 15 2006 02:00
British military ships could be built in foreign yards for the first time as part of a new plan unveiled by the Ministry of Defence yesterday.
The MoD has appointed a shortlist of three companies that will compete to come up with the best approach to build the next generation of military support ships, which could be worth £2bn-£3bn. However, Britain's biggest naval ship-builders, BAE Systems and VT Group, did not make the list.
Amec, the UK engineering support group, Halliburton's KBR subsidiary and Raytheon, the US defence group, have been shortlisted. Whoever wins the contest will run the project.
The MoD is thought to have wanted a company in charge that was independent of Britain's shipyards.
The MoD previously appointed KBR, the US engineering support group, as "physical integrator" of the £3.5bn project to build two aircraft carriers. But its role was severely curtailed after BAE threatened to sell its British yards unless it had a greater say in the project.
In his recent defence industry white paper, Lord Drayson, defence procurement minister, said there was "no absolute sovereign requirement to construct all our warship hulls onshore".
The issue is sensitive politically because of pressure to safeguard shipyard jobs.
Yesterday, Lord Drayson indicated that the building of the support ships could be the first time some work took place in cheaper foreign yards.
The priority was to take advantage of "efficiency of specialist commercial shipbuilding", he said, but "UK yards and suppliers who can demonstrate these levels of efficiency will be given every opportunity to compete".
British naval shipyards will be working at full capacity for the next few years as they cope with the huge 65,000-tonne carriers and the construction of between six and eight new destroyers.
But one industry insider said the yards would need to be guaranteed enough work in the gap between construction of the two carriers. Some of the new support ships will be fairly simple constructions for the transport of fuel, supplies, ammunition and troops. The MoD is understood to believe that at least some of this work can go overseas.
However, other ships in the fleet will include on-board logistics, equipment repair and helicopter support. Some of this work is likely to be guaranteed to British suppliers because of the need to protect skilled naval engineering in the UK.
The new auxiliary fleet could include between 10 and 12 ships and could be put together by an alliance of companies similar to the one building the carriers.
The MoD also appointed an independent project manager, WS Atkins, on its £14bn programme to build a new fleet of armoured vehicles.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2b95fee0-9dc7-11da-b1c6-0000779e2340.html
Posted on: 15 February 2006 by Nime
How good are the British yard's on supplying to time and within budget in comparison with the overseas competition?