Maritime UK Welcomes National Shipbuilding Strategy

[By: Maritime UK]

Maritime UK has welcomed the publication of the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) as a “major turning point” for the industry, helping put the sector on track to be the world's most competitive maritime nation by 2050.

Announced by the Prime Minister in Merseyside, the NSS contains plans to boost the competitiveness and productivity of UK shipbuilding, which the Prime Minister has identified as one of his major policy priorities.

This includes more than £200m funding for green maritime projects through a new UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions, a new government team to open up exporting opportunities worth up to £600 million, and establishing a taskforce to drive new skills and talent into the industry.

The NSS also includes a 30-year, cross-government shipbuilding pipeline of more than 150 new vessels, to provide certainty for yards, and re-introduces the Home Shipbuilding Guarantee Scheme (HSGS), giving firms a government-backed guarantee for loan repayments to reduce financing costs.

According to research by First Marine International, the HSGC could boost orders to UK yards from £60m to more than £400m per annum, an increase of more than 660%.

This forms part of a £4 billion government investment overall over the next three years.