3 FSS for the RFA now to be built in Britain
 

Seen this bit of good news in the press this morning:

Article here

In a carefully-worded statement, the MoD has confirmed the Fleet Solid Support ships will, at least predominantly, be built in the UK and the competition will be re-launched in the Spring of 2021.

UK Government statement here

The Government statement says the competition will be for “three Fleet Solid Support warships” This is a change by the MOD - categorising a Support ship/Auxiliary as a Warship - probably in order that they are built in the UK, the previous competition stated 2 ships with an option for a third, it now seems they will order 3 ships.

Seeing the writing on the political wall, much foreign interest has mostly melted away and the competition now has only two contenders left. Team UK is the all-British consortium led by BAE Systems, including Babcock, Cammell Laird and Rolls Royce. Should they win the competition, there is speculation the ships would be assembled in Rosyth with Cammell Laird, and possibly other UK yards, contributing blocks.

Team Resolute is a partnership between Harland & Wolff (now owned by Infrastrata Plc), naval architecture house, BMT and Spanish shipbuilders, Navantia. Team Resolute has used a more relaxed interpretation of the NDA and has previously published outline designs and explained the structure of their bid.

The NAO says the first FSS could be in service in a vague timeframe ‘sometime between October 2027 and April 2029’.

Only 3 ships - but it's still a positive move in the right direction which will provide a lifeline for the smaller companies such as Cammell Laird, Harland & Wolff / Appledore.

The article describes RFA staff as "part of the Merchant Navy, although employed by government as civil servants". Well, it can be one or the other but not both!

I worked with one ex RFA chief officer who joined the Marine Services organisation (managers of the RMAS). In doing so he had to leave the MN and become a civil servant. It took him many months to get the civil service pension people to accept his RFA time as counting towards a civil service pension; in doing so he had to give up his MNOPF rights, which was probably wise as the PCSPS was better.