The shipyard boss at the Harland & Wolff Group has expressed disappointment after the UK Government scrapped a shipbuilding contract worth £250 million.

The Belfast-based group which owns shipyards in Arnish and Methil in Scotland and Appledore in England, was one of two finalists in the running to land the lucrative contract of the national flagship and aimed to promoting Britain around the world. 

But the massive contract to create a successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia decommissioned in 1997 and now a museum ship in Leith Docks, has been ditched as part of Rishi Sunak’s squeeze on government spending.

As Afloat reported in 2021, the plan for a new royal yacht was championed by the then prime minister Boris Johnson, but was dismissed as a "vanity project" by critics.

On Monday, the UK’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told MPs he was prioritising in the procurement of a multi-role ocean surveillance ship (MROSS) instead of the flagship. The newbuild was to be much larger than the 1953 Clydeside built Britannia.  

Harland & Wolff's Chief executive John Wood said the company had planned to use the flagship contract as a launch platform for ‘green shipbuilding’ projects.

For more The Irish News reports on the decision given the challenging public finances. 

In the UK a new national flagship, the successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia, will promote British trade and industry around the world, said Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The newbuild vessel would be used to host trade fairs, ministerial summits and diplomatic talks as the UK seeks to build links and boost exports following Brexit.

It would be the first national flagship since Britannia, which was decommissioned in 1997, but the new vessel would be a ship rather than a luxury yacht.

A name for the vessel has not been announced, but Johnson has faced pressure from campaigners and Tory MPs to name it after the Duke of Edinburgh, who played a role in designing Britannia.

The government intends to build the ship in a UK shipyard, at a reported cost of up to £200m. (See story of proposed built in Belfast ship).

Johnson said: “This new national flagship will be the first vessel of its kind in the world, reflecting the UK’s burgeoning status as a great, independent maritime trading nation.”

More from The Guardian here. 

The naval architect who designed Cunard’s flagship cruiseship / ocean liner Queen Mary 2, has backed Belfast’s Harland & Wolff shipyard to build a new UK flagship vessel aimed at promoting Britain around the world.

Stephen Payne, a past President of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) - has a proposal for a ship considerably bigger than the former royal yacht Britannia, decommissioned in 1997 after 43 years in service.

“My vision is for a British promotion ship encompassing exhibition, conference, trade, youth, cultural and tourism — which if built in Belfast, would showcase shipbuilding and capabilities in Northern Ireland,” he said.

“Harland and Wolff are very capable of building a prestige ship of this scale.

“Infrastrata (the yard’s owners) come across as very dynamic.

“Something like this would be a tremendous opportunity for them.

“It is a comprehensive British promotion platform encompassing everything Britannia did and much more besides,” he said.

Further reading from the Belfast Telegraph here.