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Royal Navy Type 26 Frigates to be Built in Glasgow Confirms UK Prime Minister

30th November 2022
HMS Glasgow, leadship of the new Type 26 / 'City' class global combat frigates for the UK's Royal Navy, is one of a trio of first batch newbuilds out of eight in total to be built by BAE Systems two Glasgow shipyards. AFLOAT adds, last week the 6,000 tonne-newbuild was transferred onto a semi-submersible barge Malin Augustea at the shipyard in Goven from where it was towed downriver to deeper waters on the Clyde at the second shipyard at Scotstoun from where fitting out work is to take place.
HMS Glasgow, leadship of the new Type 26 / 'City' class global combat frigates for the UK's Royal Navy, is one of a trio of first batch newbuilds out of eight in total to be built by BAE Systems two Glasgow shipyards. AFLOAT adds, last week the 6,000 tonne-newbuild was transferred onto a semi-submersible barge Malin Augustea at the shipyard in Goven from where it was towed downriver to deeper waters on the Clyde at the second shipyard at Scotstoun from where fitting out work is to take place. Credit: Maritime Photographic-facebook

Shipyards in Scotland are to construct five warships for the UK's Royal Navy following the British prime minister's confirmation of the next phase in a shipbuilding programme.

As BBC News reports, Rishi Sunak has accounced that BAE Systems two Clydeside shipyards have been awarded the £4.2bn contract to build a further five Type 26 frigates. The announcement follows an existing trio of the same class of newbuilds already under construction.

According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) the deal would support 1,700 jobs over the next decade for the Royal Navy's 21st century frigates to be constructed at the shipyards in Glasgow where the newbuilds are to replace 12 ageing Type 23 frigates.

The BAE shipyards located in Govan and Scotstoun is where the trio of Type 26's which are designed for anti-submarine warfare and air defence, are already being built as part of an initial £3.7bn order that was announced in 2017. 

At the time of that deal the MoD said five more newbuilds would be agreed in the "early 2020s".

The first of the frigates, HMS Glasgow (Afloat adds last week at Govan was transferred onto a semi-submersible barge) is to be on track later this year with delivery to the Royal Navy in the mid-2020s. The Type 26 leadship first began construction with steel-cutting in 2017. 

Next to follow construction was HMS Cardiff and the third City class, HMS Belfast which as Afloat previously reported is also under construction at the Govan shipyard.

Across the North Channel, the Harland & Wolff Group (incl. its Belfast shipyard) was recently selected as part of a team bidder to construct for the MoD three crucial support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) at a cost of £1.6 bn. The support vessels are to serve the requirements of the Royal Navy.

For more coverage of the Clydeside shipyard's naval contract award can be read here.  

Published in Shipyards
Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals. 

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Shipyards

Afloat will be focusing on news and developments of shipyards with newbuilds taking shape on either slipways and building halls.

The common practice of shipbuilding using modular construction, requires several yards make specific block sections that are towed to a single designated yard and joined together to complete the ship before been launched or floated out.

In addition, outfitting quays is where internal work on electrical and passenger facilities is installed (or upgraded if the ship is already in service). This work may involve newbuilds towed to another specialist yard, before the newbuild is completed as a new ship or of the same class, designed from the shipyard 'in-house' or from a naval architect consultancy. Shipyards also carry out repair and maintenance, overhaul, refit, survey, and conversion, for example, the addition or removal of cabins within a superstructure. All this requires ships to enter graving /dry-docks or floating drydocks, to enable access to the entire vessel out of the water.

Asides from shipbuilding, marine engineering projects such as offshore installations take place and others have diversified in the construction of offshore renewable projects, from wind-turbines and related tower structures. When ships are decommissioned and need to be disposed of, some yards have recycling facilities to segregate materials, though other vessels are run ashore, i.e. 'beached' and broken up there on site. The scrapped metal can be sold and made into other items.