A MAJOR shipbuilding contract that could have created hundreds of new jobs is now unlikely to come to the region.
The Ministry of Defence has changed its mind about a plan to construct a fleet of auxiliary fuel tankers as part of the Military Afloat Reach Sustainability (MARS) programme.
It had been hoped that two of the tankers would be built at Cammell Laird, which was jointly bidding for some of the work with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.
The MoD change of mind emerged yesterday in a written statement to the House of Commons. Defence Secretary John Hutton said “there is scope for considering alternative approaches” to provide a new fleet of naval support vessels. The tanker announcement follows a review of military spending that has also resulted in a two-year delay to the launch of two planned 65,000-tonne aircraft carriers.
While work on the carriers will still begin on time, the project will be slowed down to allow for later completion in a bid to save money.
Trade union Unite welcomed the announcement because it believes the peaks of work will be flattened out, securing a stable workload for longer.
The vessels were scheduled to enter service in 2014 and 2016, but Mr Hutton said yesterday the project was being brought more closely into line with the development of the joint combat aircraft which they will carry.
However, Cammell Laird managing director John Syvret remained positive about the opportunities for the resurgent shipbuilder. The yard is in line to build parts of the carriers after it was approved as a second-tier supplier to the £3.9bn contract.
“The company completely understands the current financial difficulties of the country, and the need to continuously review defence spending,” he said.
The second aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, which is to be affiliated with Liverpool, may now only enter service in 2018.
The strike force for the two new carriers will be drawn from a fleet of 150 joint combat aircraft being constructed under a £1.3bn deal with US company Lockheed Martin.
alex.turner
