Building for the navy and RFA

[Lewis McColl]

The Government invited tenders for the four Building of the four RFA shipyards, not one replied. The yards were busy on the construction of sections for the new carriers.
Vic

So why not just delay the order until space became available at a British yard? what yards were invited to tender? Vic please do not try and con people on here that it was not down to cost saving measures that the order went to Korea. https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/ne...-brexit/19/04/ . https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/rfa-...d-south-korea/ . Sorry but this is a bloody disgrace and a slap in the face to the working men and woman of the UK. Typical of the government in power in the UK over the years.

[vic mcclymont]

Firstly Lewis, I am not trying to CON anyone the four original four ships were offered to UK shipyards,which declined due to nvolvement in the carriers.
Secondly, it would appear that there is in the pipeline orders for new RFa ships, yes these should be built in the UK.
Thirdly, BAE systems have stated that they will not tender for the new ships.

[happy daze john in oz]

Tony all I can say is that China must have upped their game as regards quality control. I was in Shanghai over a period of 18 months for the construction of 6 LNG Gas Carriers for a joint venture between CLISCO & BP. What a shambles build quality was disgrace. I was involved in the over seeing of the cargo handing machinery on deck and the Compressor house. I took 3 of the vessels into service , Gas trials, sea trials first load and discharge. I have never seen anything like it. It is not as if I was new to the game of commissioning ships LNG Carriers specifically having also done the same thing with BP Trader class vessel British Merchant. After the 3rd Chinese built one MIN LOU I refused to return to China for the other vessels. The ships were dangerous and the working in and around the shipyard was like being in a war zone.

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John, Korean ship building is only still around because the Korea Government bailed all the yards out from bankruptcy about 2 or 3 years ago. Every ship they had on order was being built at a loss. Also shipping companies were cancelling orders left right and centre.

That may well have been the case a few years back Lewis but from figures I saw when in south Korea earlier this year they are now going gang busters with ship building.

[Lewis McColl]

That may well have been the case a few years back Lewis but from figures I saw when in south Korea earlier this year they are now going gang busters with ship building.

https://www.marinelink.com/news/mari...n-shipbuilding Read this John South Korea are under investigation because of state funding to support shipbuilding. Yes they are the worlds biggest shipbuilding nation but a lot of what they are building is being built at a loss. Daweoo made a loss of $4.2 Billion dollars in 2015. Unless there was state intervention Korean ship building would bankrupt. I have several friends who live in Korea and are or were involved in the ship building industry usually as the owners representatives. At least two of them are now based in China.

[John Arton]

This was on the internet today, though I don't understand why foreign yards have been invited to tender. From a quick read it would appear that the hills could be built abroad but outfitting to be done in the U.K.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/s...rt-competition
In other news the inchgreen drydock, where these ships hulls could easily be built even if it meant that sections were built in otherU.K. yards and assembled there, is in the news with its owners, Peel Ports, being lobbied to stop it being sold off for housing development.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-scotland-46371503
Rgds
J.A.

[Lewis McColl]

This was on the internet today, though I don't understand why foreign yards have been invited to tender. From a quick read it would appear that the hills could be built abroad but outfitting to be done in the U.K.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/s...rt-competition
In other news the inchgreen drydock, where these ships hulls could easily be built even if it meant that sections were built in otherU.K. yards and assembled there, is in the news with its owners, Peel Ports, being lobbied to stop it being sold off for housing development.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-scotland-46371503
Rgds
J.A.

If these ships go to foreign yards it would be a national disgrace. Do what the French do and stick a pea shooter on the fore deck and call it a gun. Then they do not need to go out for international tender, but knowing this corrupt government they will end up in Korean yards. All you ever hear about is we no longer have the skills, well get the bloody skills and start creating real jobs and real apprenticeships. How many are sick and tired of seeing work that should be done in the UK going abroad because some government bloody bean counter says it is more cost effective to order from abroad. Well let the bean counter also take into account how much it costs to keep people on the dole, Oh hang on!!!! that is not a lot now that we have the Universal Credit in place.

[vic mcclymont]

#15 ifhey were to be assembled in the Inchgreen Drydock , considerable investment would to be made in the infrastructure.
Peel Ports blew up the thre cranes in the summer, leaving the dock with none.
Rosyth music fav if assembly method used, as it has missed craneage.
Vic

[j.sabourn]

Looking at all these points of view, one thing seems to stick out, and has for many years now , due to the removal of nearly all heavy engineering plus other industries, that the old saying that Britain was a nation of shopkeepers is almost a fact today. The only thing wrong about being so is that unfortuanetley for people to use those same shops they must be employed, so even the shopkeepers are going to disappear. So Britain’s future depends on making a big comeback under its own banners, remember made in Britain the logo that people used to look for.? Either that or copy the Philippines community and become a nation of people for hire, or even the wandering Jew looking for refuge. JWS

Thinking back remember my father in law who was a foreman in the gear cutting shop in Parsons , and was on the team for all the big turbine jobs built on the Tyne at one time. Think it must have been in the 70s he had to go across to Holland to supervise the establishment of the gear cutting machinery in to a Dutch yard. It was Parsons being dismantled. It was shortly before he died, so didn’t live to see the total decline in shipping in all its different aspects. Many engineers I sailed with knew him as had served their time with parsons under him and had various visits from some of them when they were home on leave. Any one who served their time in Parsons his name was Leslie Dunn. Cheers JWS