tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254362504495980377.post8023098179052912969..comments2024-03-20T12:03:26.126+00:00Comments on Thin Pinstriped Line: The chances of life on MARS were a million to one, yet somehow its come…Sir Humphreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08704774192275240783noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254362504495980377.post-71628903377718121932013-11-06T18:36:13.739+00:002013-11-06T18:36:13.739+00:00So all who made the comments above (with the worth...So all who made the comments above (with the worthy exception of cavist), including I am sad to say Sir Humphrey. How do you feel today, following the loss of 1775 shipbuilding jobs in this country!!!! Try asking them if they thought it was a good use of Tax Payers money to place the contract overseas!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254362504495980377.post-67732187224883079072012-08-10T11:42:31.800+01:002012-08-10T11:42:31.800+01:00Fatuous comments such as the following, are a symb...Fatuous comments such as the following, are a symbol of everything that has gone wrong with this country since the war:<br /><br />The project also serves as a wider wakeup call to British industry – the days of the UK Government placing orders for warships with UK yards should no longer be taken as a given.<br /><br />If this logic is followed why not outsource the armed forces themselves, if it saves 'us' money? <br /><br />This is the real root of the Thatcherite world view, the only values are monetary. The fact that those who actually pay for these ships with their taxes and are presumably protected by them, are looked on as temporary hired labour by those who sign the cheques, speaks volumes.<br /><br />The EU laws and other globalist corporate treachery must be thrown in the bin of history. Looked on as another failed utopian idea. We need a return to the true definition of nation and it's interest that has sadly been subverted by 70 years of fake democracy.cavisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08833404753084708320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254362504495980377.post-24168150208886975762012-02-27T01:15:55.888+00:002012-02-27T01:15:55.888+00:00An excellent decision. The Koreans build good ship...An excellent decision. The Koreans build good ships at a sharp price, and they will be delivered on time to boot. It would be great to have some imaginative thinking on how to replace some of the other RFAs, e.g. Argus. There is the potential to acquire some really capable multi-purpose vessels at a very reasonable cost.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254362504495980377.post-69736962344060643262012-02-23T22:43:04.758+00:002012-02-23T22:43:04.758+00:00Of course, the comments above conveniently ignore ...Of course, the comments above conveniently ignore the fact that firstly BAE was offered the chance to bid on a sole contractor basis for the vessels, and still turned the job down.<br /><br />It also ignores the reality that the UK shipbuilding community is at maximum capacity relative to the outputs the Govt has said it is able to fund for the next 10 years, so if the ships had been built at home, something else would have had to have given in the UK building programme.<br /><br />The final point worth remembering is that a tanker is actually a fairly simple ship to build - the importance from a strategic perspective is keeping the ability to design the vessels intact. These vessels have been designed by a British firm, and that has kept the key high end skills in work - and also ensured that our sovereign warship building capability (and remember a warship is very different from a tanker) intact, and able to turn out vessels / parts of CVF for the next few years.<br /><br />Yes in an ideal world we'd have built them at home - but the UK shipbuilding industry had the chance, and chose not to take it.Sir Humphreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08704774192275240783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254362504495980377.post-48877530794760857162012-02-23T21:16:58.440+00:002012-02-23T21:16:58.440+00:00Actually, thinking it through, perhaps our 2* in W...Actually, thinking it through, perhaps our 2* in Washington could condescendingly tell the Americans what a good thing it is and they are bound to open up their Defence market a bit more?<br /><br />After all, he's a 2 star...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254362504495980377.post-44433684444523525552012-02-23T19:13:21.004+00:002012-02-23T19:13:21.004+00:00Spot on Sir Humphrey,
Opening up to foreign compe...Spot on Sir Humphrey,<br /><br />Opening up to foreign competition is the way ahead. It has worked wonders for the coal industry, who have really sharpened their picks. And the steel industry as well. <br /><br />What is really interesting is the inevitable tension such a policy would bring with our new bessy friends the French, who it has to be said do not adopt such a policy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254362504495980377.post-2826124549297614602012-02-23T13:40:25.088+00:002012-02-23T13:40:25.088+00:00Makes perfect sense to go with a yard that has a w...Makes perfect sense to go with a yard that has a world class reputation for being on time and budget. Hope the MoD don't try and tinker with the spec though!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254362504495980377.post-81776168455992398892012-02-23T13:20:49.350+00:002012-02-23T13:20:49.350+00:00Agreed. Fantastic news for RFA and RN. However, I&...Agreed. Fantastic news for RFA and RN. However, I'm pretty sure BAES will be relatively unconcerned on this one, particularly as they appear to be getting a £90M bung to provide "engineering support" to DSME. Personally, I can't conceive of how one might spend 90 man years providing "engineering support" to a company that churns out much more complex ships on a monthly basis. Applying the Defstans and generating Log Suppt documentation doesn't cost that much.<br /><br />If only it hadn't taken over eight years of PR-torture to get here. It shouldn't have taken five years to work out that : <br />1.UK design and build was unaffordable<br />2.There wasn't a commercial off-the-shelf option available, so<br />3. You get a competent company to produce a design to the requirement and then get a competent merchant shipbuilder (none in UK since 1993) to build it.<br /><br />MoD still doesn't understand shipbuilding costs. The going rate for a commercial product carrier is around $US70M - even with higher speed, much more accommodation, flight deck and hangar we shouldn't be paying much more than $US110M (£70M) per hull, but it's vastly better than the price for the two Wave-class ten years ago!Not A Boffinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254362504495980377.post-89557547941469366882012-02-23T08:53:17.918+00:002012-02-23T08:53:17.918+00:00Ordering MARS overseas makes perfect sense if the ...Ordering MARS overseas makes perfect sense if the price was right. However I'm not surprised that the usual knee-jerk reaction against the order has happened.<br />What will be a real wake-up call to British shipyards will be if the order comes in on time and close to budget.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254362504495980377.post-57523926795148580882012-02-22T21:49:49.839+00:002012-02-22T21:49:49.839+00:00Agree with comment ref ordering from overseas yard...Agree with comment ref ordering from overseas yard but there's a difference between ordering fleet tankers (pretty standard engineering, for all that the boys and girls in Portsmouth will no doubt add to them once they get them) and high-tech end warships. Do we need the skill set for the first just for the sake of it? Probably not. Do we need the second? Probably. So maintain the skill base ordering the second (T45, CVF, T26 etc) and order overseas to get the best value with the rest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254362504495980377.post-12667713994027855822012-02-22T17:19:33.539+00:002012-02-22T17:19:33.539+00:00next, thunder child, aka cvf :)next, thunder child, aka cvf :)Domohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00240964731398145995noreply@blogger.com