UK National Shipbuilding Strategy to be revealed

Details of the strategy will be discussed at the UK’s Society of Maritime Industries (SMI) conference March 8-9.

Expectations are that the refreshed strategy—due to be published soon—will include ferries, research ships, workboats and patrol craft as well vessels for the UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Plans for a national flagship are also expected to be included. The UK has been without a national flagship since HMY Britannia was decommissioned in 1997. The unnamed flagship will be used to promote UK trade and engineering around the world. Metal for the ship is due to be cut later in 2022.

The first SMI conference in two years is titled UK Maritime Enterprise: Time For Action – Decarbonising Maritime and Offshore Renewable Energy. Ministers, officials and industry figures will address audiences, including Robert Courts MP, Minister for Maritime, Stuart Barnes, Head of Government Affairs, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and presentations from the Department for Transport and the Department for International Trade.

SMI CEO Tom Chant said: “Gateshead and the wider North East are the perfect location to highlight the levelling up role of shipbuilding and the offshore industry. The UK is a world leader in offshore renewables and marine technology and the conference will identify how we can deploy that expertise to catapult British industry forward. The total cost of decarbonising maritime alone is being pitched at over £1trn and our conference will help companies understand the opportunities enabling them to adapt and evolve to win the business of the future.”

Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.

Thinking behind UK National Shipbuilding Strategy to be revealed