Exclusive:MoD urged to award Faslane contract to Scottish shipyard

GMB Scotland has called for the Navantia yard in Fife to be given a new Ministry of Defence (MoD) contract to build huge dry docks for the UK’s nuclear submarine fleet at Faslane on the Clyde.

The union has said that awarding the contract to the Methil yard could secure its future.

Building the massive out-of-water docks for the Faslane submarine base could secure the rejuvenation of the yard, which the Spanish shipbuilders took over from Harland and Wolff last year.

The Royal Navy wants up to four dry docks allowing repairs and maintenance work on the nuclear fleet to be in place at the Clyde base in the first half of the 2030s.

Louise Gilmour, GMB Scotland secretary, has now written to Defence Secretary John Healey urging him to award the contract to Navantia without tendering the contract internationally.

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Her intervention comes months after GMB questioned why Damen, a Dutch defence giant, was awarded a £200m contract to build 24 Royal Navy support vessels, including tugs for Faslane, without any UK shipyards invited to tender.

Ms Gilmour said Euston, along with other contracts to be detailed in the delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP), was a clear opportunity to bolster UK industrial capacity, secure supply chains, boost growth and create skilled jobs and apprenticeships.

In her letter to Mr Healey, she wrote: “In an increasingly uncertain world, the DIP must secure and strengthen supply chains within the UK.

“In that context, the opportunity and potential benefits of sending the Euston contract to the Navantia yard, in Fife, is clear and cannot be ignored.

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“The yard has endured difficulty and uncertainty in recent decades but is, under new ownership, being rebuilt and rejuvenated.

“A committed, skilled and growing workforce, bolstered by substantial investment and ambitious management, is determined to build a new future for the yard.

“Euston would allow that new future to be built on firm foundations.

“The yard, in Methil, has the potential to be a pillar of UK engineering capability and is a perfect example of how defence contracts could be built on secure domestic supply chains while boosting growth and creating jobs.

“The Defence Investment Plan is a clear opportunity to confirm the potential benefit of this work for our country’s security, workers, and communities.”

The GMB is backing Navantia’s efforts to secure Programme Euston as it discusses plans to fabricate the steel at its yard in Belfast before building the Faslane dry docks in Fife. The shipbuilding giant believes it can compete on price with foreign yards but awarding the work directly to Methil will dramatically speed delivery.

In her letter to the defence secretary, Gilmour said the yard’s potential, under ambitious new management supported by millions of pounds in investment, is clear.

She said: “The workforce has already risen from around 180 to 230 with hopes of that rising again to 300 this year.

“Euston would promise more jobs while confirm the yard’s position as a key strategic industrial asset for Fife, Scotland and the UK.

“A direct award is an opportunity for ministers to signal the way ahead by allowing Scots workers to deliver complex contracts on time to the highest possible standards. 

“It would help create and secure jobs and apprenticeships, sustain critical skills, and keep economic value within the UK supply chain while securing swifter delivery.”

Glenrothes MP Richard Baker said the contract would be “transformational” for Methil and was “too good an opportunity to miss”.

He said: “When the future of Methil was in doubt, Labour Ministers stepped in to save the Methil yard, and with the new owners Navantia the yard and its highly skilled workforce has a bright future.

“It is vital the Defence Investment Plan, which will be announced in the next few months, boosts the Scottish economy through the UK Government’s increased spending in defence.

“Ministers have the opportunity to award the contract for Programme Euston, the construction of new dry docks at Faslane, to Methil and I am strongly urging them to do this.

“It would help deliver this vital project for our navy more quickly, and would be transformational for Methil, bringing new jobs and apprenticeships to build on the investment Navantia have already made in the yard.

“This is too good an opportunity to miss for this vital defence contract.”

According to UK defence minister Luke Pollard, Programme Euston “aims to deliver a resilient out of water engineering capability at HMNB Clyde by the early 2030s.”

In a written parliamentary answer from January, he said that “the next key milestone will be the submission of a Programme Business Case in mid-2026.”

In August, then Scottish Secretary Ian Murray cut the first steel at the Methil shipyard for an £8 million new transport barge.

The 1,400 tonne vessel, which was ordered by the MoD, will be used to provide three Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships for the Royal Navy.

The order created 35 new jobs at the site - including 14 apprentices.

Spanish state-owned shipbuilder Navantia completed the takeover of Harland and Wolff in January last year.

The deal covered the four H&W yards in Belfast, Appledore in Devon, Methil and Arnish in Stornoway.

It secured the future of 350 jobs in Scotland, and 1,000 UK jobs in total. The deal was backed by the UK Government.

The Belfast-based Harland and Wolff had gone into administration in September 2024.

A MoD spokesperson said:

“We want the UK to be the best place in the world to start and grow a defence business and since July 2024 we have signed nearly 1,200 defence contracts, with 93% of that spend going to UK-based companies.

“Scotland’s defence sector is a powerhouse of innovation and expertise, supporting 11,200 industry jobs and receiving £2.1 billion in annual UK Government spending.

“The UK’s £10bn Type 26 frigate deal with Norway will further boost Scotland as a shipbuilding powerhouse for the UK. The deal will see billions of pounds pumped into the Scottish economy, sustaining over 2,000 jobs, and supporting over 103 Scottish businesses, including 54 small and medium enterprises.”

“This government has overseen the biggest uplift in defence spending since the Cold War, with £270 billion investment across this Parliament. We are working to finalise the Defence Investment Plan and will publish it as soon as possible.”