Plans to spur shipbuilding 'renaissance' welcomed in the North East

Government plans to spur a "shipbuilding renaissance" in the North East and further afield have been launched on Tyneside, but it will take time, one of the Ministers in charge says.

International Trade Secretary and Berwick MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan was at A&P Group's Hebburn shipyard to launch the new Maritime Capability Campaign Office (MCCO), which she promised would help North East and UK firms to "reach out globally for interesting civilian shipbuilding work across the green energy revolution."

The announcement coincides with the launch of a refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy - first launched in 2017 - which includes £4bn of investment previously set out in the 2020 Spending review and the 2021 Autumn Budget that will go towards 150 new vessels.

Read more: Tyneside shipyard A&P Group launches into new year at full capacity

But unions have accused the Government of "sowing uncertainty" and not doing enough to guarantee work for UK yards such as those run by A&P.

Asked whether the Government could do more to guarantee work for UK shipbuilders, Ms Trevelyan said: "From a military perspective, we build all of our warships in the UK - that's built in already - and as we grow that and are able to grow the pipeline of the wider shipbuilding and maritime sector, we'll be growing people.

"So for the next 50 years we know that we'll have an incredible industry with people who are committed to the sector, and that's something that will take time."

A&P, which currently employs about 169 people but has the capacity for more than 500 at its Tyneside yard, has welcomed the strategy.

A&P managing director Eddie Purves said that industry decline had forced companies like his to employ Eastern European workers to plug skills gaps, but insisted his yard was strategically equipped with facilities, globally competitive and stood ready to support the strategy.

He said: "We just need some more surety in order to be able to invest in both facilities and people. We look forward to the strategy and the support it's going to give us to regenerate this industry.

"We're very much invested in training local labour. The Tyne has seen a lot of decline over the years but we're now seeing the floating wind opportunities and the wider green energy agenda coming off COP26 - which is exciting.

"We've got a huge amount of real estate here and we really want to support it."

Ms Trevelyan added: "I want the big yards - like here at A&P Tyne - to be part of the family of yards around the UK that are taking on some of these really big contracts and set the marker for the world. I also want them to be part of those 30-40 year maintenance work programme which brings great job opportunities - really exciting job opportunities in terms of workforces that can travel the world taking those skills they've built here in the UK yards."

But Gary Smith, GMB general secretary, said: "Ministers are again sowing uncertainty with their disastrous policy refusing to guarantee work for UK yards.

"The Government's scheme of sending potentially every order overseas is killing investment. No other shipbuilding nation would dream of procuring its own vessels in this way.

"These jobs are essential to our national security. The world is becoming less stable and we need a clear industrial strategy for the defence sector that secures our capabilities at home."

Ben Murray, chief executive of Maritime UK, said: “The Government’s Maritime Capability Campaign Office can enable us to unleash our full exporting potential across the globe.

“And what is good for maritime is good for the UK’s coastal communities, who can become the engine room for Global Britain.

“We will be working closely with government to ensure these ambitions are met, on our way to becoming the world’s most competitive maritime nation by 2050.”