The Harland & Wolff Group which has shipyards on both sides of Irish Sea has welcomed the UK Government's announcement to launch the Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme (SCGS).

The scheme is designed to help buyers access finance to buy UK-built vessels and upgrade existing ships, with the government acting as guarantor for lenders.

The UK Department for Business and Trade claimed the scheme would create hundreds of jobs and contribute millions of pounds to the British economy based on the demand for commercial shipbuilding.

The scheme forms part of the Government’s £4 billion plan to support UK shipbuilding through the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh announced last year.

Welcoming the launch, John Wood, Harland & Wolff CEO, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the launch of the Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme. “The scheme will help UK shipbuilders to compete, win orders, and create new high-quality jobs across the country. We look forward to using the scheme as both a customer and builder.

“It’s a core deliverable from the National Shipbuilding Strategy, and we are committed to working with colleagues in government and across industry to accelerate its delivery so we can realise the objective of a competitive, innovative, and sustainable shipbuilding enterprise.”

Shipbuilding Tsar and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, said: “As I set out in the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh, this scheme will help build confidence in UK shipyards, allowing them to invest in the people and the technology to drive productivity forward in this vital sector of the UK economy.

“Shipbuilding is hugely important to the UK, supporting 42,600 jobs nationwide and adding £2.4 billion to the economy every single year.
A strong domestic sector helps to support the wider economy’s export ambitions, with 95 percent of UK trade moved by sea".

Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani, said: “Shipbuilding is an integral part of the UK’s industrial identity and through this scheme we are backing our great maritime businesses to get ahead of the competition.

“With cutting-edge vessels designed and built here in the UK this will be a boost to high-skilled careers and every company involved in the supply chain for shipbuilding, helping us to grow the economy.”