Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has described a £1.6bn deal to build support ships for the Royal Navy as a “feather in the cap” for Devon’s Appledore shipyard.
A consortium involving the yard’s owners Harland and Wolff, Bath-based marine design firm BMT and the UK arm of Spanish state shipbuilder Navantia has been selected by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as its preferred bidder for the contract.
Heralded by the government as a “significant boost” for the UK industry, the agreement will see three 216-metre-long vessels built at Harland and Wolff’s Appledore and Belfast yards.
