'Broken down' contracts stifled HMS Dragon Cyprus deployment amid Iran strikes - deal branded 'not efficient'

Bob King, national secretary for defence at the Prospect Union, insisted that HMS Dragon’s operation in Cyprus was hampered by a new Portsmouth Naval Base contract. This follows up previous claims that working hours were changed and some staff were swapped to 9am to 5pm roles instead of being available round the clock.

“You have significant contracts in Portsmouth and Clyde that have been broken down,” he told the defence select committee today (March 23). “It used to be one employer who would control the contract and the logistics so everyone knew where everything was going and you could plan ahead.

“That is now five or six separate contracts. If someone needs a part for a submarine or warship, you used to go to the same company. That has now been outsourced to a separate company with a two-week lead time.

“When you need the emergency bit, say for a Type 45 that might have been in Portsmouth and now isn’t, you’ve got to go through about three different companies in order to get it. Somebody needs to take a step back and look at how those contracts are organised. They are not efficient, in any way shape or form.”

What is the contract impacting HMNB Portsmouth?

HMS Dragon arrived in the eastern Mediterranean three weeks after her initial deployment was announced on March 3. This was after RAF Akrotiri was struck by a kamikaze drone, amid the escalating strikes from the US-Israeli coalition against Iran. After previously being assigned for maintenance, she was brought up to high readiness at the Upper Harbour Ammunitioning Facility (UHAF) and fully supplied within six days. Personnel and staff worked round the clock to make it happen. Families of sailors gave the destroyer an emotional farewell on March 10.

The efforts from staff to get the warship ready were widely applauded, though Mr King believes changes to the afloat services contract at HMNB Portsmouth, Devonport, and the Clyde, will cause deployment issues going forward. A ten-year £850m agreement was signed with Serco Maritime and covers all in-port services including the towing of warships out of the harbour, bunkering and watering, tank cleaning, passenger services, trials work, munitions, and nuclear safety drills.

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Prospect Union negotiations officer Nathan Morrison previously said 34 jobs were cut and millions of pounds was spent on redundancies. Staff volunteered to do overtime to get HMS Dragon ready. Quoted by Politico, general secretary Mike Clancy said the agreement was based on the “fantasy that conflict only occurs between nine and five”.

“Out-of-hours support should be locked into the contract,” he added. “This contract has failed its first real encounter with a serious crisis, and must be urgently reviewed and rectified.”

Minister for defence readiness and industry, Luke Pollard, previously insisted that deployments from HMNB Portsmouth are unaffected by any changes. He added: “HMNB Portsmouth operates on a continuous 24‑hour basis. Appropriate Duty Staff are in place at all times to maintain the safety, security, and operational availability of the site.”

Serco denied the Prospect Union’s allegations and said HMS Dragon’s deployment was aided by the “full support of our dedicated teams in Portsmouth”. The firm added: “Serco has fulfilled every task requested by the Royal Navy on time and to the agreed standard. Any suggestion that the working patterns of Serco employees have impacted HMS Dragon’s ability to sail is completely untrue.”