Cammell Laird Close To Luxus Cruise Ship Contract
Cammell Laird Holdings, which has been a strong shipbuilding and repair success story for several years, announced that it was to build two cruise ships, breathing further life into the struggling U.K. shipbuilding industry. Cammell Laird, however, said the contract with Luxus (UK) Ltd. for two 28,000-ton ships was conditional on the go-ahead from the UK government and Shipbuilding Intervention Funding, as well as ship mortgage finance guarantees to Luxus's bankers. The deal could be worth a reported $497.9 million, with the work expected to be shared between Merseyside in the northwest, Teeside and Tyneside in the northeast and Gosport on the south coast. Cammell Laird lost out last month on orders for six army roll-on roll-off transport ships.
U.K. Orders Six RoRo Ferries; Four Amphibious Ships
The British government placed much-anticipated contracts for six RoRo ferries with two going to UK yards, and four going to a German shipyard. Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon also announced he would place orders for four amphibious landing ships, split between the Swan Hunter shipyard in North-East England and the Govan yards in Glasgow. Two of the ferries will be built by Belfast's Harland & Wolff yard, which built the ill-fated Titanic and is owned by Norway's Fred Olsen Energy. The others will be built by the Flensburger yard in Germany.
British Builders Battle For Contracts
BAE Systems Plc is engaged in a bitter fight with naval shipbuilder Vosper Thornycroft to secure the contract to build all 12 of the Royal Navy's new Type 45 destroyers, the Financial Times reported. The BAE is said to have offered to leave the field clear for Vosper in warships less that 85 m long, but the Hampshire shipbuilder has secured the backing of a group of MPs in the interest of preserving competition in U.K. warship building. Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said last July that two of the first three destroyers would be built by BAE and one by Vosper, but is now considering BAE's bid to take on all 12. Vosper made 650 staff redundant in December after the contract for the design and construction of the Type 45 destroyer was delayed. - (Reuters)
Rosyth Dockyard Tapped For Frigate Refits
The British government contracted Scotland's Rosyth dockyard, operated by a unit of engineering company Babcock International Group, to refit five navy frigates. The work will be worth around 75 million pounds ($107 million) and should secure work for the yard on the Firth of Forth for the next four years, Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said in a statement. "This...demonstrates our commitment to working in partnership with industry to deliver first class defense at best value for the taxpayer," Hoon said. The contract for the refit of five Type 23 frigates is part of a program of work allocated to dockyard owners Babcock Rosyth Defense Ltd. when they bought the yard four years ago.
