British Shipyards Lose $700m Tanker Contract to South Korea

[Armand2REP]

S. Korea's Daewoo wins British navy tankers deal

LONDON — South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering has won a contract to supply Britain's Royal Navy with four new tankers, the Ministry of Defence said Wednesday.

The deal to supply the 37,000-tonne tankers is worth £452 million ($709 million, 535 million euros), the MoD said.
The Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) tankers are due to enter service in 2016 and will replace models that date back to the 1970s.

They can simultaneously refuel an aircraft carrier and a destroyer while undertaking helicopter resupply of other vessels.
"They are designed to allow for upgrades and emerging technologies, meaning that they have been designed with the future in mind," said Commodore Bill Walworth, head of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

The tankers are more than 200 metres long and can pump enough fuel to fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools in an hour.

The decision to award the tanker contract to a foreign firm sparked concerns about British defence jobs, particularly at a time when the government is slashing the military budget as it seeks to reduce the deficit.

"This is more bad news for British industry," said Jim Murphy, defence spokesman for the main opposition Labour Party.

"First we lose out to France over fast jets and now we lose out to South Korea over Royal Navy tankers," he said, referring to India's selection this month of the French Rafale fighter jet.

AFP: S. Korea's Daewoo wins British navy tankers deal

 

[KS]

South Koreans are the best ship builders in the world today.

 

[Armand2REP]

Clearly not British Shipyards... they lose so many orders they forget how to do it.

 

[sob]

If the Govt. is not ready to back their own shipyards then what would be their future. The British Govt. is to blame for the mess their industry is in.

Maybe the aid they are sending to India can be used to support their defense industry.

 

[weg]

Clearly not British Shipyards... they lose so many orders they forget how to do it.

I know you are a lying bullshitter, but please explain how British shipyards lost when they never even entered the tender to build in the first place?

And surely this is also a disaster for Franc, they didn't place a bid but lost just the same.

Unlike Communist France, the UK buys the best it can get for the best price.

 

[Armand2REP]

Navy buys Korean to keep its ships fuelled: £452m contract for four tankers goes to the Far East
By IAN DRURY
Last updated at 9:58 AM on 23rd February 2012


Defence Minister Peter Luff announced yesterday that a £452million contract for the support tankers had been awarded to Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
Critics said the decision was a blow to Britain's declining shipbuilding industry and to the proud naval tradition of what was once the world's greatest seafaring nation.
They also accused the Government of 'shameless hypocrisy' after David Cameron criticised India earlier this month for snubbing British industry when it awarded a £13billion deal to supply 126 fighter jets to France.

Made in Korea: How the new tanker will look. Several British companies expressed an interest in building the tankers but none submitted a final bid
At the time, sources said India had chosen 'cheap and cheerful' warplanes over quality British-built Eurofighter Typhoons.
The tankers that are being bought 'off-the-shelf' from South Korea will maintain the Navy's ability to refuel warships at sea and will provide support for amphibious and land forces close to shore.

Labour defence spokesman Jim Murphy said: 'This is more bad news for British industry.
'First we lose out to France over fast jets and now we lose out to South Korea over Royal Navy tankers. The country wants the Government to do more to support British industry. I'd like to see more of our defence industry with a "Made in Britain" stamp on it.'
Shipbuilding unions said the decision to buy vessels from the Far East 'beggared belief' and put at risk UK jobs and skills.

Defence Minister Peter Luff announced the £452million contract yesterday
Gary Cook, a senior officer with the GMB trade union, said: 'This is disappointing and depressing. Taxpayers' money is being exported as well as potentially jobs.
'These ships are an integral and vital part of the Royal Navy. It is not going to help us retain skills and innovation within the industry by taking work overseas.
'There appears to be shameless hypocrisy. We complain that India won't buy our warplanes, but then we send out the signal that we're not willing to buy our own ships. For an island nation, that is extraordinary.'
The four Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (Mars) tankers, from which helicopters will be able to operate, are due to enter service from 2016. They will replace single-hulled Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, which were built in the 1960s.
The new 37,000-ton vessels are 650ft long – equivalent to 14 double-decker buses – and can pump enough fuel to fill two Olympic-size swimming pools each hour.
The Ministry of Defence said several British companies expressed an interest in building the tankers but none submitted a final bid for the contract.
A source close to the defence minister initially said there was no capacity to build the tankers in UK dockyards – a claim denied by shipbuilding firms. He also said there was 'no proven track record' of building tankers in the UK.
But a defence industry insider said: 'The MoD made it clear they wanted a commercial tanker and from day one it was as plain as the nose on your face that no UK company could compete against the low labour costs.'
Mr Luff said British firms would benefit from £150million of associated contracts including providing navigation systems and equipment for the tankers.
He said the deal 'demonstrated the best value for money' for the taxpayer and that 'complex' warships would still be built in Britain.
Huge cuts to the defence budget as part of the Coalition's Strategic Defence and Security Review means that Britain's shipbuilding businesses have blank order books after work on aircraft carriers, destroyers and Type 26 frigates is completed.
Last month the Mail told how BAE Systems was considering closing the naval dockyard in Portsmouth as part of a review of its warship business, bringing to an end 800 years of shipbuilding.

Read more: Navy buys Korean to keep its ships fuelled: £452m contract for four tankers goes to the Far East | Mail Online

 

[Armand2REP]

I know you are a lying bullshitter, but please explain how British shipyards lost when they never even entered the tender to build in the first place?

They entered it, but they didn't enter final bids because they couldn't compete with the cost. Hence they lost.

And surely this is also a disaster for Franc, they didn't place a bid but lost just the same.

Have you seen the new DCN tanker? It is far more than the RN is looking at.

Unlike Communist France, the UK buys the best it can get for the best price.

Unlike Bungling Britain, we don't sell out our defence industry...

 

[Ray]

The British have got lazy!

 

[trackwhack]

How long before British Industry becomes an oxymoron?

 

[indian_sukhoi]

It seems their Military Industry is on their way joining Russia!!

Suprise to read the requirement of new tanker to be around 37,000-tonne, Size of a ligh Carrrier.

Btw, How much tonnes the DCN Tanker weighs?

 

[Armand2REP]

It seems their Military Industry is on their way joining Russia!!

Suprise to read the requirement of new tanker to be around 37,000-tonne, Size of a ligh Carrrier.

It isn't 37,000 tonnes, it is 17,000t.

http://media.bmt.org/bmt_media/resources/33/Aegir-18R_LandAnim_FINAL_200809.pdf

Btw, How much tonnes the DCN Tanker weighs?

30,000t

 

[Armand2REP]

How long before British Industry becomes an oxymoron?

Isn't it already when it becomes butt of French presidential jokes?

 

[weg]

Isn't it already when it becomes butt of French presidential jokes?

Funny, the British manufacture more than the French, and have bigger weapons and aerospace industries.

 

[panduranghari]

Funny, the British manufacture more than the French, and have bigger weapons and aerospace industries.

But still they loose the contracts (which is what really matters), I wonder why?

 

[satish007]

But still they loose the contracts (which is what really matters), I wonder why?

because uk does not givemoney under the table uk girls are urge not suitable for client service

 

[weg]

But still they loose the contracts (which is what really matters), I wonder why?

No UK bidder applied to build it - they don't want the job.

Unlike Bungling Britain, we don't sell out our defence industry...

You are obviously a state employee, not a taxpayer.