Shipbuilding to end at Portsmouth

[Garry Russell]

Not all bad news

There is a commissioned naval ship in Portsmouth that is currently being refitted, so at least sometime in the future there will be at least one more RN commission we can rely on in an emergency

Here's a pic of it before work started to refurbish it

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h ... MoBEPwdMA4

[airboatr]

nuclear powered sails?

[DaveB]

I knew that was coming

You never know.. things might change in the future. Pompey was a repair and maintenance yard during the 16 years I was in the mob then VT opened shop (part of the BAe Systems group) as recently as 2003 so from 1967 when HMS Andromeda was built to 2003.. there were no warships built in Portsmouth. The 'Royal' dockyards haven't really built warships for donkies years. The Type21's were built by VT and Yarrow.. the Type42's by Camil Laird, Swan Hunter and Vickers and both types have been and gone so to speak. I think our Invincible class were built by Vickers in Barrow. The last warship built in Devonport was HMS Plymouth launched in 1959 so while there remains a lot of 'romance' about the Royal Dockyards and shipbuilding.. the RN's warships have been built elsewhere for a very long time.

Gary is certainly right though. Not only are we losing capacity.. we're losing the necessary skills.
ATB
DaveB

[airboatr]

It's happening in many trades, Dave

It's getting to the point in mine, I'd rather do my jobs by myself. The young bucks have the notion they won't be told what to do or more importantly how it's done and why it's done in a specific manner.

The way I.see.it the planet's going down in one big electrical fire if these idiots have their way.

I had a guy call me the other day says he's an "eeelectri schown"
Says how doyaknow which wires which. ( one of these friend of a friend calls.)

Flipping hung up the phone.

... hold on .. I'm ranting .... never mind.

[SkippyBing]

I think currently they're building chunks of the new carriers and possibly the Type 45 in Portsmouth, which kind of counts as ship building. The final assembly of those chunks of carrier (which can weigh more than a Type 45) happens in Scotland, but that's mainly because it's the only place in the UK big enough to do it.

The only problem with going to buying ships off the shelf from the US is that we've no logistics or training package to support the systems, which is where the money is not the hull. Which although not insurmountable does mean you probably wouldn't end up with the cost savings you'd hoped for on the first few buys.

Of course this whole process is what happens when someone decides it's a good idea to only have one warship constructor in the country and then guarantee to pay them even if they don't build ships. Which I'm sure was in no way related to that persons constituency being next to two of the ship yards in question...

[Garry Russell]

I don't know about Portsmouth, but it is certainly the case, or was indeed the plan to build the new carriers in pieces around the various works.

Harland & Wolfe stopped building ships a while ago now but still have some work but a much smaller operation

Trouble is that these sites were huge and most of the community surrounding them is only there to service the need of the shipyard.

[SkippyBing]

I think part of the problem was the yards were too reliant on military work where the cost per unit is considerably higher than a merchant vessel, consequently when they try and diversify they can't compete with yards in, say, Korea where they're building container ships almost on a production line. Of course BAE didn't help themselves by not bidding for the four MARS tankers for the RFA, consequently they're being built in Korea as well, although on the plus side they're probably about half the price they would have been if they'd been built here.

[Garry Russell]

There was always the problem of the British build bespoke one off or a couple of and not entering into the mass fast construction of standard ships.

Sometime the workforce got in the way like the riveter verses the welders.

Times changed and the shipyards were slow to move and the World went elsewhere.

That's a shame and the overseas orders were lost, but too many home based ships are built elsewhere which one would hope would remain British built The Cunard flagship 'Queens' not being British built is a great shame and in some ways verges on national embarrassment, depending on your point of view.

But as with the Rivet Joint thread, a change of direction may well improve things in the future, the short term is already written off in a sense.

Find something they can do, do it well, become the best and get the pride back.

[DaveB]

Hi Skip

Yes.. I was aware of BAe building 'part' ships at Pompey and yes.. that does constitute 'ship building'. My point was the furore being kicked up saying it's the end of 500 years of shipbuilding there. I don't think after Andromeda was built, there was any hope of further warships being built at the dockyard, complete or otherwise. This of course turned around in 2003 when VT moved there ending a 'building' drought of some 26 years. It was during those years, a repair and maintenance facility

My comment.. 'buying off the shelf' was 100% tongue in cheek

ATB
DaveB