Shipyard wins carrier contract

The �50m Appledore contract will sustain 150 jobs at peak production

A north Devon shipyard has won a multi-million contract to help build the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers.

Appledore Shipyard will carry out the steelwork for the ships' bow sections in a �50m deal which is set to sustain 150 jobs at peak production.

The contract comes two months after a series of strikes at the yard, owned by Babcock Marine, in a row over pay.

Staff at the yard were protesting about not being paid as much as workers in the firm's other UK yards.

The Appledore deal is one of a number of new contracts worth �90m, which have just been awarded to companies throughout the UK.

Jobs safeguarded

The new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, will be the largest vessels ever built for the Navy and will be nearly three times the size of the current Invincible-class carriers.

The whole project is costing �4bn and is due to begin next spring, safeguarding 10,000 UK jobs.

Following a tour of Appledore Shipyard, Geoff Searle, Programme Director of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, said: "It is fantastic to be in Appledore to see physical proof of the project moving into the next phase.

"It is also an excellent example of how this iconic project will involve companies in many parts of the UK, creating and sustaining thousands of jobs, like those of the 14 new apprentices taken on here in Appledore, the first for six years."

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