MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Glasgow shipyard awarded contract for Royal Navy's offshore patrol vessels

Royal Navy’s current River Class vessels will be improved so that Merlin helicopters can operate

The offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), which will be used by the Royal Navy to undertake various tasks in support of UK interests both at home and abroad, will be built at BAE Systems’ shipyards in Glasgow.

 Featuring a redesigned flight deck to operate the latest Merlin helicopters as well as increased storage and accommodation facilities, the OPVs build on the proven capability of the Royal Navy’s current River Class vessels.

Announcing the contract, Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said that UK warships are only built in UK shipyards and “this multi-million-pound contract shows our commitment to investing in new ships for the Royal Navy and maintaining in the UK the expertise needed to build the warships of the future. It will benefit the dedicated workers of the Clyde, their families and the local economy in Glasgow”.

Likewise this sort of investment by the UK government is vital “for the sustainment of shipbuilding in the city and the hundreds of specialist manufacturing and engineering roles that play an important role in providing war-fighting capability for the Royal Navy”.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander visited the BAE Systems site alongside Defense equipment minister Philip Dunne to meet some of the employees who will be involved in manufacturing the vessels when work begins this autumn.

“I am delighted that we will be building the Royal Navy’s new offshore patrol vessels in Glasgow. Today’s announcement continues over 200 years of tradition building the nation’s leading ships on the Clyde. This will also support hundreds of jobs in the region and make an important contribution to the wider UK economy”, said Secretary Alexander.

“Having played an important role in the construction of HMS Queen Elizabeth, which was named by the Queen in a ceremony last month, workers on the Clyde are now manufacturing blocks for the second aircraft carrier, the Prince of Wales, which is being assembled at Rosyth dockyard near Edinburgh”.

“Work on the OPVs will help sustain skilled jobs on the Clyde and support BAE Systems’ work to improve the efficiency of shipbuilding operations”, he concluded.

The first OPV is expected to be handed over to the Royal Navy in 2017.