The UK Ministry of Defence has announced the preferred bidder for the UK Fleet Solid Support ships contract will be Team Resolute.

The UK Ministry of Defence has announced the preferred bidder for the UK Fleet Solid Support ships contract will be Team Resolute. 
 
The bid includes ADS members and Seawork exhibitors BMT and Harland &amp; Wolff and will see 1,200 shipyard jobs created in the UK, and a further 800 in the UK supply chain. 
 
Final assembly will be completed in Belfast, while the majority of blocks and modules for the three ships will be constructed at Belfast and Appledore. 
 
ADS Director of Policy Paul Oxley said, &ldquo;Delivery of the Fleet Solid Support ship programme will see 2,000 jobs created across the UK, which is welcome news for our national shipbuilding industry and its highly skilled workforce. 
 
&ldquo;The announcement of Team Resolute as preferred bidder will see substantial manufacturing and assembly carried out at Belfast and Appledore, with significant further benefits for the wider UK supply chain. 
 
&ldquo;It is encouraging to see this news delivered in the same week as confirmation that the second batch of five Type 26 frigates will be built in Glasgow, supporting 4,000 jobs. These two announcements continue the vital delivery of the National Shipbuilding Strategy.&rdquo; 
 
John Wood, CEO of Harland and Wolff, said the deal had brought shipbuilding back to Belfast.&nbsp;He added, &quot;It&#39;s fantastic news. It&#39;s historic news for the shipbuilding industry, there hasn&#39;t been a ship built in Belfast for over 20 years. 
 
&quot;Back when we acquired the business on December 5, 2019, in the days before Covid, it seemed like a dream to bring shipbuilding back home but that&#39;s what we&#39;ve done. We expect the contract to be awarded in January 2023 and the final ship will be delivered in 2032, so its 10 years of work.&rdquo; 
 
Seawork supporter association; <a href="https://seawork.com/page/supporters">ADS</a> 
Exhibitors; <a href="https://seawork.com/newfront/exhibitor/bmt-83ef5df0">BMT</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://seawork.com/newfront/exhibitor/harland-and-wolff-plc">Harland &amp; Wolff</a> 
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