UK securing shipbuilding future with $5 billion investment

The UK government is planning to invest £4 billion (approximately $5.3 billion) in the country’s regional shipbuilding industry as it prepares to publish refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSbS).

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the $5.3 billion injection into the shipbuilding sector that is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs.

The investment will also support shipyards and suppliers across the UK, delivering a pipeline of more than 150 new civil and naval vessels over the next 30 years.

It has been announced that the Ministry of Defence is getting ready to publish its refreshed NSbS today, 10 March.

The refreshed strategy will outline how the government will support UK shipyards across the nation to upskill workers, create high-quality jobs, drive technology development and ensure UK shipbuilding delivers on next-generation challenges.

Addressing the strategy, Prime Minister said: “The National Shipbuilding Strategy will transform this important and crucial industry, creating jobs, driving technology development and upskilling the shipbuilders of tomorrow, ensuring we are levelling up across every dock, port and shipyard in the UK.”

The NSbS Refresh will establish a new UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce, led by the Department for Education, to identify and address skills gaps.

Another part of the strategy will see the Department for Transport investing £206 million (around $276 million) in the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK-SHORE) to match fund research and development in zero-emission vessels and infrastructure.

UK-SHORE will help to tackle barriers to investment in clean maritime technologies, including investment in port infrastructure, the government said.

Furthermore, a new Maritime Capability Campaign Office (MCCO) will be established within the Department for International Trade to coordinate export support across government and industry.

The strategy also builds on the UK’s support for European defence capability as the Ukraine crisis escalates, the government stated.

“With significant government investment, we will be levelling up across our shipbuilding, workforce, from shipyard to supplier, from procurement to designer, creating tens of thousands of new employment opportunities, boosting living standards and pay”, Defence Secretary and Shipbuilding Tsar Ben Wallace said.

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