Taxpayers will pay more for Royal Navy support ships under a deal struck to save troubled shipbuilder Harland and Wolff, with Spanish state-owned business Navantia stepping in to buy it. The Belfast-based company was placed into administration in September for the second time in five years.
The deal with Navantia will secure 1,000 jobs across the UK and protect the future of H&W’s shipyards. The firm, which famously built the Titanic, is a subcontractor in part of a consortium that landed a major contract to build new fleet solid support (FSS) ships for the navy.
Navantia UK is the main contractor on the contract, which was originally valued at £1.6 billion for three vessels. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds would not be drawn on how much extra cash would now be pumped into the contract but insisted the revision was “relatively minor” and represented a good deal for taxpayers, workers at H&W’s shipyards and national security.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, will secure jobs at H&W’s four shipyards in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England: Belfast, Methil on the Firth of Forth, Arnish on the Isle of Lewis and Appledore, north Devon. The purchase agreement is set to protect workers’ existing terms and conditions.
Mr Reynolds said the change to the FSS deal was “relatively minor given the size of that contract, which is obviously a very important one for national security”. Officials said the variation made the “minimum changes necessary” to ensure Navantia can still deliver on the contract and build all three ships.
