Contract to build tug boats for Royal Navy base in Portsmouth criticised with deal "impossible to understand"
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An agreement to build tug boats that will support Royal Navy logistical operations in Portsmouth has been criticised as being “Impossible to understand”.
A fleet of 24 vessels will be built to support deployments from HMNB Portsmouth and two other Royal Navy bases. They will be constructed by Damen Shipyards in The Netherlands, which is part of the mammoth 10-year £850m afloat services contract signed between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Serco Maritime.
Guy Barker, Serco’s maritime services director, described the programme as “vital” as it marked a significant step forward for supporting the MoD’s auxiliary fleet. He added that Serco and Damen have worked together for over 20 years.
The afloat services contract as a whole covers all towage activities, as well as bunkering and watering, tank cleaning, passenger services, trials work, munitions and nuclear safety activities - ensuring continual shipping movements in and out of Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Scotland.
The agreement has not been without controversy. Members of the Prospect Union expressed concern as dockyard workers in Portsmouth faced redundancies, believing operations will be crippled as a result. Negotiations officer Nathan Morrison said operations tow HMS Prince of Wales and other warships will be limited in scale, something which the Royal Navy denied at the time.
Damn Shipyards is also facing prosecution in April after being accused of “breaching Russian sanctions”. The Times reported that the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service is prosecuting the firm and specific former directors following an eight year bribery investigation. They added that the agreement is worth £200m of taxpayers money.
Dutch prosecutors said this relates to “goods and technology that could contribute to the military and technological strengthening of Russia”, during the second half of 2022. Damen denies the set of allegations and said it has “robust compliance organisation”, which meets “the highest standard for anti-corruption measures”.
Now the agreement to build the tug boats has faced fresh criticism from north of the border. Union officials for GMB Scotland said the work was construct the ships was agreed without British shipyards being consulted. The Sunday Post reports that no UK shipbuilders were asked to tender for the contract.
Robert Deavy, GMB Scotland senior organiser, said the contract should now be halted, reviewed and, if possible, cancelled. “It is impossible to understand how a contract like this can be sent abroad without discussion with UK shipyards, unions, or ministers,” he added. “For the work to be awarded to a company facing such serious allegations of corporate misconduct does not make it any easier to believe.”
Scotland’s business minister Richard Lochhead called on the government to reform defence procurement so more Scottish companies can bid for defence contracts. The MoD said Serco is permitted to find its own supply chain, and government has “no legal grounds” to reject Damen as a sub-contractor. They added that they would take action if Damen Shipyards is found guilty of any wrongdoing.