Firms developing three Fleet Solid Support ships for Royal Fleet Auxiliary have been urged to say how many British jobs will be created – and how much work carried out in the UK

The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions has demanded to see plans outlining how UK workers and firms will benefit from the deal. The CSEU’s maritime chairman Matthew Roberts, a GMB union national officer, has written to Harland & Wolff, ship designers BMT and Madrid-based Navantia, S.A., S.M.E calling for answers.

He has asked for copies of the “UK Content Plan for Fleet Solid Support” and “your Social Value and Training Plan”.

In the letter, seen exclusively by the Mirror, he says: “As you will appreciate, our members have been told that these documents set out the Team Resolute commitments to investment in the UK workforce and domestic supply chains, and – on that basis – sight of the plans is essential if confidence is to be built in the project across the wider workforce.

“We believe it is crucial that these plans are visible, understood and trusted by all stakeholders, including the workforce we represent. Engagement with the workforce and representatives will be vital to delivering a successful programme.”

The trio of 709ft, 40,000-tonne Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels will resupply Royal Navy aircraft carriers, frigates and destroyers with food, ammunition and explosives. When it announced the contract in November 2022, the Government claimed 1,200 jobs will be created in the UK. But at least 40% of the value of the work – worth about £640million – will go overseas, with some of the building taking place in Cadiz.

Hundreds of jobs in Spain are expected to be created or safeguarded – posts which unions believe could have come to Britain if a rival bid from Team UK, including BAE Systems and Babcock International Group, had won.

Mr Roberts told the Mirror: “Team Resolute must now publish their UK Content Plan and Social Value and Training Plan so they can be held to account on them. Firstly, UK workers need to see that the level of UK work on FSS is significant, as we have always been promised it would be when we learnt the work would not exclusively be within the UK. Secondly, we need to ensure there is no backsliding of work from the UK to foreign yards; work that is allocated and promised to UK yards such as Belfast and Appledore must be completed in these yards.

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The Dutch government has announced it will spend EUR60m ($63.6m) over the next two years to boost the nation’s shipbuilding industry as well as creating a National Maritime Manufacturing Industry Management Agency.

Around 45% of Dutch ships were built on home soil in the 1980s, a figure that has slipped to just 4% today, new government data shows with Asian yards able to churn out ships at prices that are up to 40% cheaper.

“The Netherlands has insufficient competitive construction capacity for naval ships and specialised work vessels,” a recent government study concluded.

“Our maritime manufacturing industry is wrongly regarded as a quiet asset,” said Marja van Bijsterveldt, who is spearheading the government’s focus on the shipbuilding industry. “Together with other countries in Europe, we have lost a large part of our global market share for commercial seagoing vessels to Asia in just a few decades. The Netherlands depends on ships for our safety, dry feet, energy transition, and prosperity. We can no longer afford the laissez-faire policies of recent decades.”

Dutch yards can take part in the coming green transition of the world fleet, the government has argued, citing data from UNCTAD which shows the global merchant fleet is now 22.2 years old, suggesting a significant replacement cycle will be needed by the end of the 2020s.

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The UK government has announced its support for measures designed to protect the world’s ocean and improve the conservation of marine biodiversity.

Ahead of International Seabed Authority (ISA) negotiations and a month ahead of COP28, the UK government has announced its support for a moratorium on the granting of exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects – which involve the extraction of minerals such as precious metals, copper and cobalt – by the ISA.

This means the UK will not sponsor or support the issuing of any such licences until sufficient scientific evidence is available to assess the potential impact of deep sea mining activities on marine ecosystems and strong, enforceable environmental regulations, standards and guidelines have been developed and adopted by the ISA.

The UK is an international advocate for the highest possible environmental standards and has been pushing the ISA to develop strong and enforceable environmental regulations, standards and guidelines on deep sea mining.

To support this, a new UK-based environmental science expert network on deep sea mining will be launched to gather scientific data and increase the effective use of the UK’s world-class research through cross-disciplinary learning. This will build on the independent evidence review on deep sea mining carried out by independent experts following a government commission in 2022.

The network will bring together the UK’s environmental science expertise to help fill the current evidence gaps on the environmental impact of deep sea mining and share internationally.

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Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders Limited is joining forces with another shipyard owner A&P Group Limited to create a maritime powerhouse with a combined turnover of £188m.

With its shipyard based in Birkenhead, Cammell Laird’s most recent financial results showed annual revenues of £94m. A&P operates two shipyards in the North East of England and one in Falmouth in the South West. Its current turnover is also £94m.

Now both businesses will come under the umbrella of a new entity, APCL Group. The group will also include project management specialist A&P Australia and UK based Neway Industrial Services.

Cammell Laird and A&P already have a close working relationship and David Mc Ginley is chief executive of both companies. He will be CEO of the new entity.

This deal will not see a change of ownership of either business which will retain their individual identities. The ultimate parent company of Cammell Laird is Isle of Man-based Tokenhouse which is the parent company of ports and property giant The Peel Group.

This latest move means APCL will “stand before the market” as a much larger company. It will develop an “all of one” company approach to certain major contracts and will further the group’s ambition of becoming a tier one contractor.

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A new £100,000 Challenge Fund competition has opened for Belfast’s digital and creative companies, aimed at animating the city’s Maritime Mile.
Developed by Belfast City Council’s City Innovation Office, in partnership with the Maritime Belfast Trust, the fund is part of the Belfast HUB-IN (Hub of Innovation) project.

HUB-IN is all about exploring how digital innovation can help to sustain, enhance, and preserve the rich and unique heritage along Belfast’s Maritime Mile which connects key attractions, sculptures and viewing points on both sides of the River Lagan.

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Associated British Ports (ABP) has started procurement for a contractor for the marine works at the proposed Immingham Green Energy Terminal (IGET) in a contract worth £140M to £170M.

The IGET will support the import of green ammonia (NH3) from Neom in Saudi Arabia and the import of carbon dioxide (CO2). It will cover an area of approximately 102.52ha at the Port of Immingham on the banks of the Humber in Lincolnshire.

The project has been designated as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. The plan has already been through two statutory consultations and has been accepted by the Planning Inspectorate for examination.

ABP is responsible for the development and operation of the marine facilities to meet the infrastructure needs at IGET. While IGET has not yet had the green light for development, ABP has started the hunt for a lead contractor or consortium to carry out the marine works.

On the marine side, the construction will comprise a jetty consisting of an approach trestle approximately 1.2km long. This will lead to a single berth including a loading platform and berthing and mooring dolphins with link walkways. There will be topside infrastructure on the jetty for handling of bulk liquids including loading arms and pipelines.

ABP says the construction can be broken down into the following areas:

~Jetty structure: an open piled jetty approach trestle, approximately 1.1km of deck on (up to 219) 1.2m steel tubular piles
~Jetty berth: the single berth is comprised of a loading platform, two breasting dolphins and eight mooring dolphins with associated fenders and walkways
~The jetty head would involve the installation of (up to 178) 1.5m diameter piles to support the jetty head structures and two monopiles (maximum diameter 2.3m) to provide fendering suitable for small vessels
~Dredging of the required area: A capital dredge of approximately 4,000m3 (based on the latest available site-specific geotechnical and geophysical information)
~The construction of lighting infrastructure, utilities (electrical systems, firewater systems including pumps and pipework, communications systems, security systems) and drainage
~New access road: a corridor between the new jetty and Laporte Road which would support a jetty access road, a jetty access ramp, pipe-racks, as well as security gates and buildings, a power distribution building and associated utilities

Parties have until 5pm on 30 November to express interest in the works.

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The British and Danish electricity grids are physically connected for the first time, following the completion of cable works on the Viking Link interconnector.

The final section of the state-of-art-high voltage subsea cable, which joins Bicker Fen in Lincolnshire with Jutland in Denmark, was completed offshore in the North Sea by Prysmian’s Cable Laying Vessel ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ and its team.

The £1.7 billion (€2 billion) project is a joint venture between National Grid and Danish system operator Energinet. It will be the world’s longest land and subsea interconnector – stretching for 475 miles between the two countries. Due to be complete by the end of the year, it will enable the sharing of enough green electricity to power 1.4 million UK homes.

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Swedish firm ScanOcean and Finnish oil refining and marketing company Neste Oyi have unveiled a new lower-emission DMA Gasoil for the shipping sector.

The new lower-emissions DMA is produced by adding renewable raw material into the conventional refining process and by using mass-balance the fuel attains high GHG emissions reducing benefits while maintaining the quality and specifications of the fuel to ISO 8217. The fuel is certified according to ISCC plus.
According to the partners, Neste Marine 0.1 Co-processed could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 80%, compared to fossil DMA Gasoil.

DMA co-processed with renewable raw materials will be available as bunker fuel on the Swedish east coast, Neste noted. Neste Marine 0.1 Co-processed DMA will also be available at the Södertälje ex-pipe facility together with DMA 0.1 and DMB 0.1, serving vessels in transit into Lake Mälaren.

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Currie & Brown has been chosen to carry out consulting services on a scheme to manage flood risks, expand access to green spaces and increase biodiversity around the river Thames.

The consultant was appointed to the £500m project by the Environment Agency and Surrey County Council.

The River Thames Scheme will create more than eight kilometres of new flood channel and increase the capacity of three existing weirs and downstream of the Desborough Cut, reducing flood risks for more than 11,000 homes and 1,600 small businesses.

This channel will be flanked by new areas of public green open space for recreation.

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Harland & Wolff has established a new subsidiary in Aberdeen as it looks to capitalise on opportunities in the energy sector.

Harland & Wolff (Technologies) (HWT) will operate in conjunction with the listed group’s four delivery centres across the UK while working independently and directly with the company’s clients in other shipyards.

It is good to see that the vastly experienced Richard Davidson has been appointed with immediate effect as managing director of the new HWT subsidiary. H&W said Davidson brings with him over three decades of experience in the energy and maritime markets and has been instrumental in introducing and commercialising new technologies centred around propulsion and fuels.

In his last role with Echandia, Richardson was responsible for developing and monetising large scale battery technologies for the marine market.

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