Boost to British jobs and skills with new deals to support thousands of defence boats
The Ministry of Defence has signed contracts with five suppliers to provide support services for the fleet of 3,000 smaller vessels used by Royal Navy, Army, RFA and MOD Police.
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Over £280 million in contracts awarded to maintain and support 3,000 Navy, Army and defence boats, protecting UK waters for years to come.
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Contracts back British businesses, creating more than 100 skilled jobs across the UK, from Scotland to Cornwall.
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Programme supports the reopening docks, showing how defence is an engine for growth.
British businesses have been backed today, with 100 skilled jobs created through new contracts to support a fleet of 3,000 defence boats which are essential to protecting the UK’s waters.
The contracts, worth £283.5 million, will maintain and support smaller vessels used by the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and MOD Police, such as single‑person watercraft, high‑speed craft, training vessels, and the Royal Navy’s P2000 small warships.
Awarded to Golden Arrow Marine, UK Docks, Griffon Marine Ltd, Babcock and Serco following a competitive procurement process, the contracts will run until 2033.
More than £250 million of the total value flows exclusively through UK-based businesses, making defence an engine for growth.
The programme will create apprenticeships, engineering and manufacturing roles in coastal and riverside communities from Scotland to Cornwall. It will directly enable the reopening of docks in Teesside and regeneration of key maritime sites. Activity will be centred on major naval bases at Portsmouth, Devonport and Clyde,
with additional work in Gibraltar.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP, said:
We’re backing British businesses, reopening docks and breathing new life into maritime industries that have been the backbone of our coastal towns for generations – proving once again that Defence is an engine for growth.
This is defence spending that works hard for the whole country. These contracts will keep our critical boats ready and operational, while putting over 100 skilled jobs into communities - including apprenticeships for people just starting their careers.
The awards are structured to provide support for nine distinct requirements covering capabilities from P2000 to Army boats. Six of these requirements will be covered by three UK SMEs - Golden Arrow Marine, UK Docks and Griffon Marine Ltd - and two will go to Babcock and one to Serco.
Through the Defence Industrial strategy, the Ministry of Defence committed to making defence an engine for growth - backing British businesses, creating skilled jobs and strengthening the industrial base that keeps our armed forces operational. These contracts are an example of that in action, ensuring that the investment needed to maintain our Armed Forces’ capability flows into British communities and British businesses.
These contracts are backed by the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War – hitting 2.6% of GDP from 2027 with £270 billion this Parliament.
