Cammell Laird set to land slice of carrier contract

Merseyside's Cammell Laird shipyard is poised to win a slice of a 150m pound contract to build flight decks for two Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers - the next generation of warships that are being ordered for the Royal Navy.

The yard has been named a preferred bidder for the work which would underwrite hundreds of jobs at the historic yard in Birkenhead which is where two famous two Ark Royal aircraft carriers were constructed..

The Alliance Management Board of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA) announced a revision to the build strategy for the UK's two Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, which included the Laird's announcement.

The Cammell Laird Shipbuilders name was officially resurrected last November when the firm that occupied the site of the historic firm decided the time was right for the move.

Cammell Laird Chief Executive John Syvret said today: "This is clearly very positive.

"We need to analyse what the full extent of this is. It is preferred bidder status which basically means we are down with A&P shipyard to final discussions concerning the blocks we tendered for, which is fantastic news."

ACA has adjusted its plans for the two 65,000 tonne ships to meet a Ministry of Defence need to re-schedule the build due to budget pressures.

The original delivery dates of 2014 and 2016 have now been deferred by one to two years. Several UK yards will build different parts of the vessels for final assembly at the navel dockyards in Rosyth.

Carrier programme director Geoff Searle said: "I am delighted that we have been able to announce that both the north-east and north-west regions, with their traditional shipbuilding heritage, will contribute to the build of these great ships."

Cammell Laird and the Tyneside yard of A&P, which previously owned the Birkenhead yard, are in discussions with the MoD to build the two flight decks.

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