Warshipbuilding Axe Looms - BAE have said that one of their major shipyards is likely to close, with a decision expected before Christmas 2012.    BAE needs to reduce its footprint and part of that might actually be the cessation of manufacturing at one of its sites, which are at Portsmouth and the two Glasgow yards of Govan and Scotstoun.    The decision will depend on future workload in the warship shipbuilding industry, and there is a “gap” in the British programme expected once the two Aircraft Carriers are completed but before the Type 26 Global Combat Ship programme begins.

The Coalition Government has yet to order a new “Warship” and when they make a move in this direction they order ships from the wrong sort of shipyard ie and overseas one.    The Fleet Tanker replacement orders are well within the capacity of many British shipyards but none quote for the work and there must be a reason for this ?    Was the decision making process along the lines of what has being going on at Department of Transport where trains are ordered “overseas” and franchise calculations seem to be made, incorrectly, and the back of someone else’s envelope.    It is precisely to meet these gaps that orders for the Fleet Tankers should not have been allocated to a Korean shipyard and one can wonder whether the cost benefit analysis took into account of the closure costs of shutting one of the these shipyard – by closure costs these are the tax saving that the shipyard owner can make by closing a facility AND the ongoing Benefit Claims of the employees who face long periods unemployed.

The need is for orders in the short term and there are several options available:-

·         The Ice Patrol Ship ENDURANCE is still on charge in a damaged condition.    The PROTECTOR has been chartered for three years as a replacement.    Surely an order for a new Ice Patrol Ship could be conjured up and work on plans for and ENDURANCE replacement must exist ?   It should lead on the decisions about the future British Antarctic Survey Research Ships.  The RRS JAMES CLARK ROSS is now twenty two years, so a second ship of this type could easily be contemplated.  

·         The wisdom of using Type 45 Destroyers to monitor and chase pirates in fast motorised rubber boats is questionable and certainly not economic sense.    Why not order a series of three “CLYDE” Patrol Boats for he specific use “East of Suez” as Destroyer and Frigate replacements – the plans exist and would be simple and expedient use of Government funds which would save money!