Cammell Laird Shipyard Welcomes Defence Secretary

The company said during the visit it intends to design and build a world leading Type 31 Frigate that will meet the Royal Navy’s specification and budget and will market the platform globally and capitalize on major export opportunities to Britain’s international allies around the world.

Cammell Laird CEO John Syvret CBE said it is ‘ready, willing and able’ to build five new Type 31e frigates for the budgeted £1.25billion ($1.7bln)  for the Royal Navy.

Mr Syvret said he discussed the company’s strategy and ambition in detail with Sir Michael and confirmed that the company will be putting its full weight and resource behind the tender process in its attempt to win not just the UK Navy order, but other international orders at the same time.

Mr Syvret said: “We have worked hard throughout the last decade to re-establish the Cammell Laird brand, and our management and workforce have earned and thoroughly deserve their place in this competition. We have consistently demonstrated that we are internationally competitive, and the winning of the Sir David Attenborough is latest example of this. We never fail to deliver on our promise to our customers in either the commercial or naval sectors and this has been the catalyst to winning repeat business over many. We have a 130 acre site with world class facilities, infrastructure, skills and supply chain partners, and if we are successful in this competition it will provide us with a larger platform and opportunity to drive wealth and prosperity not just on Merseyside but across the country.

“We are extremely grateful to the Secretary of State for taking the time to visit us here again on Merseyside today. I would also thank him for supporting the recommendations made in the Sir John Parker report, and providing this opportunity and recognizing that the commercial marine engineering sector around the UK can potentially add significant value to future UK Naval programs and the British tax payer. We have demonstrated to Sir Michael first hand today that as custodians of this unique waterfront infrastructure and national asset, we are absolutely committed to developing the business and broad supply chain in this sector, and that we are a driver to growth and prosperity both locally and nationally.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:  “We are witnessing a renaissance in British shipyards and I look forward to visiting them as our new National Shipbuilding Strategy revitalizes competition across the industry. With their role in building the RSS Sir David Attenborough, it is exciting to see Cammell Laird’s enthusiasm to bid for the new class of five frigates for our growing Royal Navy.”

Background 
On September 6, 2017 the Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon unveiled an ambitious new National Shipbuilding Strategy which meets the challenge set by Sir John Parker last November in his review of the sector.

 Sir John Parker’s independent report into British naval shipbuilding proposed far-reaching recommendations to transform the UK maritime industry and boost the prosperity of regions, shipyards and maritime supply chains across the country.

The Strategy sees the Government accept Sir John’s recommendations and step up to what he called a prospective ‘renaissance’ in British shipbuilding. Building on the Government’s industrial strategy, it outlines an ambition to transform the procurement of naval ships, make the UK’s maritime industry more competitive, grow the Royal Navy fleet by the 2030s, export British ships overseas, and boost innovation, skills, jobs, and productivity across the UK.

The strategy announced the Government’s plan to procure new Type 31e General Purpose Frigates. A price cap has been set of no more than £250M ($334m) each for the first batch of five frigates. In line with standing UK policy on warships they will be built in the UK. They could be built in a way which could see them shared between yards and assembled at a central hub. The first ships are set to be in service by 2023.

Shipyards will be encouraged to work with global partners to ensure the vessel is competitive on the export market.