Was £7 billion wasted.

[happy daze john in oz]

Too many cooks spoil the broth, too many admirals spoil the navy.

[Doug Hardie]

I think we do have the Yard / Dockyard space to build and re-purpose Navy ships. I believe the problem may more likely lie in the Management and financial structure of the said ship building and repair organisation .
Build programmes and refit repairs are being started with only 15 to20% of the project design being complete. Usually the first person mobilised on a project is a claims manager.This and the fact that there is constant re design ,changes in specification, and associated rework means the schedule changes and costs go up . Hence the huge cost overruns and delays.
Most of these projects are let on a cost plus basis which works in favour of the Yard owners as they enjoy huge profits due to material and labour cost spiralling out of control with out any apparent censure.
These projects should started after 85 % of design is complete and build contract Let on a Lump sum cost basis as most of the yards in Japan ,Korea, Finland & Italy are Lump sum.
The Scottish Ferry Fiasco is a classic case of this.
I agree with James this is a National disgrace and embarrassment though many people have become very rich in the process , possibly a form of “legal” corruption.
Lots of the smaller more efficient companies have disappeared leaving the large multi National conglomerates to dip into the pot of finance available.
Doug

[j.sabourn]

#11 Or in other words John ,Too many Crooks spoil the Broth, and too many Admirals spoil the Gravy. . ? JS

[vic mcclymont]

Always amazes how the armchair critics denounce the media for printing in accurate or misleading information. Now, without the full facts they pounce like a pack of hyenas because of a mechanical failure.
What they and the media forget or conventionally ignore that Q. E. HAS BEEN SAILING FOR SEVEN YEARS.
Did any of the armchair critics sail on fault free ships?
Vic

[James Curry]

Sailing 7 years. Vic she was commissioned in 2017. On trials she had a stern tube seal failure.
The new carrier has sprung a leak due to a faulty seal.

The Royal Navy’s future flagship has a problem with one of its propeller shafts and the problem was discovered during sea trials in the North Sea.

But her Maiden voyage deployment was not until May 2021. She has a history of stern tube problems, failed stern tube seals, now like her sister she has shaft coupling issues. This recent problem discovered 24 hours before she was due to join a NATO training exercise.
To many wrong decisions , who in there right mind would build a ship in 9? different shipyards and then weld it all together. A recipe for disaster and it seems there is a misalignment in her stern tube section.

Do you think the build quality is what is rquired for a war ship? not as if it was a cheap build.
I wonder how she would fair if she was on a regular run from Europe to far East running at a service speed of 20 knots +

[j.sabourn]

Leaks in shell plating was a matter of concern years ago , and anyone old enough to have sailed on riveted ships will well know the cause and cure done by those who crewed the vessel and probably went like that until the next dry dock. Cracks around rivet heads were not as uncommon as people sometimes think and if the crack had continued on to the shell plating and could be sighted , the remedy to stop it going further was to drill a hole at the end of crack to stop it spreading before a doubling plate over could be welded if one had a welding machine. I sailed on a few war time built vessels and was all part of something to look for years ago. JS.

[happy daze john in oz]

Most cruise ships now are built in Italy, and Spain has supplied a number of war ships to Oz.
Are they better builders, or is it that they just get nit done on time and budget??

[j.sabourn]

Some of ships I was on John you could tell their age by counting the number of cement boxes distributed throughout the inners of a vessel if were willing to also crawl through all the double bottoms and other tanks . They must have looked like a hedgehog in dry dock before cutting off the protruding hard wood wedges . JS

[happy daze john in oz]

Some you could tell the age by the rust deposits.
The second cruise we did on a P&O ship was a ship almost held together by rust.
When the gun port doors were open you could pull it off by the handfulll.