UK shipbuilders have declared they are ready to step in and fulfil a £200 million deal to build 24 vessels that was shamefully handed to the Dutch firm Damen instead of UK yards.
Outsourcing giant Serco has an £850 million public contract over ten years to provide support services – including 24 new small support craft – at the UK’s naval bases.
Instead of getting UK yards to build the vessels in line with the UK National Shipbuilding Strategy, Serco chose a Dutch company despite the firm facing prosecution in the Netherlands for allegedly breaching Russian sanctions.
Matt Roberts, GMB National Officer, said:
“Our shipbuilding members all around the UK are telling us they are angry that Serco dished out this work to foreign shores when this could have been a real boost for several of our shipyards at home.
“Our members are saying loud and clear in multiple yards they stand ready to step in if our government can repatriate this UK work.
“It is not good enough for the MOD to say they will look at this if Damen are found guilty in their court case – that misses the point that this work should always have been done at home by our skilled UK shipbuilders.
“With the investment that has gone into UK shipbuilding, this debacle raises serious questions on how the government allowed this to happen with a public contract.”
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