UK injects £4bn into shipbuilding industry

Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Cammell Laird dockyard in Merseyside last week, as he announced over £4 billion of government-wide investment in regional shipbuilding, which will deliver more than 150 new naval and civil vessels over the next 30 years, the government said.

While the shipbuilding fund was originally announced in the 2020 spending review and then the 2021 autumn budget, the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSbS) has recently been refreshed in the face of rising Russian aggression.

“Shipbuilding has been in our blood for centuries and I want to ensure it remains at the heart of British industry of generations to come,” says Johnson.

“The National Shipbuilding Strategy will transform this important and crucial industry, driving technology development and upskilling the shipbuilders of tomorrow. This will ensure the UK is rightly seen as a shipbuilding power across the world.”

The government says the new £4 billion of government investment will galvanise and support shipyards and suppliers across the UK, with new measures including better access to finance, vital skills building, and funding for crucial research and development into greener vessels and infrastructure.

Designed in partnership with industry and delivered by the recently formed National Shipbuilding Office (NSO), the NSbS Refresh will also deliver a pipeline of more than 150 new naval and civil vessels for the UK government and devolved administrations over the next 30 years. The vessels will include large warships, Border Force cutters, lighthouse vessels and the controversial new £250m national flagship.

The flagship – designed to promote British businesses – has been widely reported as already soaring £100m over budget.

The government is also creating a new UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce, led by the Department for Education, alongside a new Maritime Capability Campaign Office (MCCO) within the Department for International Trade.

Defence secretary and ‘shipbuilding tsar’ Ben Wallace says: “We will be levelling up across the shipbuilding, workforce, from shipyard to supplier, from procurement to designer, creating tens of thousands of new employment opportunities, boosting living standards and pay.

“Our refreshed strategy will see the sector galvanised at a crucial time for our economy and see a vital part of British industry expand and flourish,” he adds.

The chair of Maritime UK, Sarah Kenny, says: “Our industry supports the National Shipbuilding Strategy, with its investment, broader focus on commercial and leisure vessels, and emphasis on enablers such as skills and collaboration. We will be working closely with government to ensure these ambitions are met, on our way to becoming the world’s most competitive maritime nation by 2050.”

The shipbuilding industry currently supports 42,600 jobs across the UK and contributed £2.8 billion to the economy in 2020, according to No. 10.