Troubled Yard Ordered to Hand Over Ship

It has been reported that the shipbuilder Swan Hunter will be ordered to hand over its last remaining warship - which will then be completed at a rival yard in Scotland. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel, the Lyme Bay, will be handed over to BAE Systems at Govan, in a move which is feared could spell the end of shipbuilding at Swan Hunter. The MoD, had become increasingly concerned about the spiralling costs of the dock landing ship contract. Swan Hunter was forced to renegotiate its 160m contract with the Government at the end of 2004 following problems adaptation an off-the-shelf design for the Largs Bay and Lyme Bay vessels. Source: The Northern Echo