The vessel is expected to cost around £200m and will be crewed by Royal Navy personnel.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters:
“This new national flagship will boost British trade and drive investment into the economy. The procurement process, which is being done through the MOD, will reflect its wide-ranging use and so it will be funded through the MOD, as set out previously.”
With regards to the cost, rather than coming from third parties as some speculated, Ben Wallace says "The National Flagship will be underwritten by the Government".
— George Allison (@geoallison) June 21, 2021
The vessel, to be crewed by the Royal Navy, will be factored into the wider crewing requirements of the fleet.
Answering where the crew for the 'National Flagship' will come from, Wallace states "crewing the National Flagship is being factored into a wider assessment of the workforce necessary to operate the Royal Navy's new generation T26 and T31 frigates".
— George Allison (@geoallison) June 21, 2021
The spokesperson also said the vessel would not be classified and a ‘warship’, adding:
“We will set out the exact detail in due course but this is a trade ship, it is not a military vessel.”
The construction of the new National Flagship will commence in 12 months, with the ship entering service by 2025.
The Prime Minister’s previous announcement was accompanied by a visual of the new ship, which will be the first of its kind to be built and commissioned by the UK and will showcase British design, engineering and green technology.
Opinion is mixed on whether or not this is a good idea but this is a news article, I’ll be doing an analysis/opinion piece on this news in the coming days.
Really bad news. This is not a defence asset but belongs to the boards of trade & FCO. £200 million is going to put pressures on defence spending programmes that already have BIG pressures. I hope the Defence Sec can renegotiate this because as I’ve said above; it’s not defence.
“because as I’ve said above; it’s not defence.”
You’re right mate, its a hoofing big vanity project. Even the Royals have the good sense to distance themselves from it (wouldn’t surprise me if they use it right enough). I agree it shouldn’t be coming out of the Defence budget but I guess BoJo reckons he’s earned it.
He must be assuming he will be in power for quite a while then, I cant see this being built and at sea in the next 4-5 years.
I don’t think our Boris is short on ego, he probably thinks he’ll be picking the wallpaper for decades.
I dont see why this ship cannot be crewed by a Merchant Navy crew and when not being used for Government or trade conferences .
It could be used as a training ship for both Merchant Navy and Navy officers.
Or just not built, I’m sure the 200M set aside could be used, then there’s the ongoing expenses of the crew, refits, fuel (unless its going to be so green it has sails). I guess he’s not happy with the jet with the fancy tail colours.
I would agree with not building it the money could be spent somewhere else in the services, but if is to be built it should not be crewed by Royal Navy .
We could build it for training purposes. We could also build it out of snow leopard pelts and ivory, if we really wanted to.
Just because we could build such a vessel, does not mean we should.
We do not need this boat to fulfil training requirements. In case you had not noticed, the Age of Empire set sail some time ago.
Nut Nut does the decorations. Welcome to the tinpot dictatorship.
I think you’ve nailed the problem. Borris thinks himself Mr Untouchable due to his crazy majority. He will be in power for at least 2 terms, with no clear viable opposition south of the scottish border.
He can therefore afford vanity projects such as this.
National flagship….I thought that was what hms Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales were.
I’d much rather have a 6th type 31frigate.
agreed or atleast an odd 50-100 tanks of ifvs. i mean how this is “national flagship” gonna be grander then the qe class. does it carry 40 f35 5th gen fighter? no. does it have a state of the art ciwis? no. is it 65,000 ton? possibly. all it is is a huge waste of money.
He could well be – the Tories have been in office for over 10-years now and one of the principle reasons (in my opinion anyway) is that for all that time we have lacked any credible opposition.
The bigger question is will the national flagship be more heavily armed than a Type 31e frigate? A few spudguns would do it!
I read this and thought someone was taking the p**s!! I wonder if it’s the case that it’s part of the ‘conditions’ for the MOD getting the £16 billion uplift? Who knows, but this amount could most definitely be spent on more pressing kit.
It’s coming out of defence because if it doesn’t the UK is obliged under the WTO to put it out for a Global Tender, (Truss signed up to that agreement last year), defence however as always is excused from that.
Fine. But for the year it is built defence will have to get a 200 million uplift.
If they put it out to global tender, they might get a better design at a better price
Yeah, but it’s British don’t you know.
You might be right that the 16 billion was on condition that the RN take on the crewing etc of this. I accept that if its guaranteed to be UK built then its going to be under the MOD banner.
I’m still not convinced that this will be the ‘money spinner’ some claim, especially if we’re rocking up to some country showing off our shiny new toy and they’ve suffered from a cut in our Overseas Aid.
It doesn’t sound good does it, I just saw this myself and mentioned in the original post, I hope this doesn’t come at the cost of something else (unless of course the MOD knew about it ages ago and have already budgeted for it) somehow doubt it though.
Absolutely right. Even funded by the DBES as previously reported, this was a stupid idea. Paying for it out of an already overstretched military capital budget is beyond mere stupidity.
Meanwhile, before the promised new equipment in 8,9,10 years time, all three services are cutting capabilities simply to TRY to stay within budget.
If the gov wants to boost shipbuilding, speed up the delivery of types31 and 26 before existing vessels drop to pieces.
If barmy Boris thinks this is a vote winner, why not try crowd funding it?
I think Defence Sec is well behind this project, but the intention is not obvious. The cost is tiny in the context of the MoD budget, and like VIP Voyager, other departments will probably pay MoD to use the ship. See what DS says here:
https://youtu.be/NTM8ZKAV110?t=511
Based on Wallace’s comments, I’m guessing this is an attempt to create opportunities for UK shipbuilding, in the Civil sector, so that industry can become more competitive and sustainable.
No idea if this scheme will work, but if it does, it will benefit RN fleet procurement in the longer term.
Nice I’d not seen that. He speaks well I thought.
I agree. Looking a bit deeper into the issues and trying to find solutions, and apparently willing to take difficult decisions regardless of appearances.
I don’t have any particular political slant but I think we could do a lot worse for a Def Sec at the moment!
Des Brown. Fox. Hoon. Ainsworth! My God. Yes I agree.
I was cheesed when HMS Penny sank, but Captain Ben is doing okay.
Lol took me a while to get that one!
Yeah I thought PM was ok too, but didn’t stick around for long.
I like how BW somehow manages to transcend politics and just get on with dealing with reality.
I agree. I particularly appreciated the comment he made that gets overlooked so often, i.e. that we cannot have a domestic shipbuilding industry that is wholly dependent on orders from govt. BAES don’t seem to want to play in the commercial ship building and maintenance market, which may see them eventually concentrate on naval ship design and leave the actual build to others, unless they win the T83 build contract. More encouragingly others like Babcock, Infrastrata-H/W, A&P, CL are already engaged in the commercial market and working to grow and diversify there. My guess is that govt. may prefer to… Read more »
£200 mil! we can atheist get another 50-100 odd cr3s! or a good supply of marlet or sea venom. or even another t31!
I am relieved she will be built. Only through re-engaging with the wider world will be be able to have the kind of economy capable of supporting our growing defence needs and building vital over seas alliances. Far from being ‘anachronistic’, a Royal Yacht is a very potent U.S.P. Britannia earned her keep and more.
“ Only through re-engaging with the wider world will be be able to have the kind of economy capable of supporting our growing defence needs” I guess you’re a fan Barry but for me it really is an anachronism. In the age of braodband and being green, I really don’t see the need for multi million pound floating phallus. For it to be crewed (I’m assuming permanently) by the RN is also a massive waste of wages and I’m not convinced it will impress ‘the locals’ much either. As for Britannia, I’m really not sure how you can quantify her earning… Read more »
Yup, it’s a complete anachronism, just an expression of the PM’s ego, and no one in the Tories is willing to challenge him. I really hope it becomes too difficult and is quietly forgotten. And if it does go ahead someone has to come up with a better design, the current pictures look like a child’s bathtub toy.
That’s not accidental. Almost certainly dreamt up by Boris playing in his bathtub!
Disagree about Britannia 2 being an anachronism, but agree the design could be better.
If the ship has eco-credentials, then they will send just the right message to potential foreign clients.
You may well be right, but can’t the idiots in Whitehall stop calling it a yacht? In today’s parlance a yacht is for lounging around on and drinking cocktails. Why not call it something like the National Flagship, and also give it a secondary role as say a hospital ship, which Britannia did?
I think this debate is going to run for some time!
Broadband and green are both fine, but as we have all found out through lockdown, nothing beats physical relationships.
We are an intensely social species, which is partly why the international trade show industry has been so successful.
Look at Britannia 2 as a trade vessel to see its real purpose. It will almost certainly turn a profit.
Sorry DJ, I’m still not buying that we need a yacht for this. Many countries manage to do business without a Royal/National yacht. Its not like the UK ground to a halt without one and we stopped doing business. We have these magical flying things that can transport people from one part of the planet to another, we actually ‘pimped’ one that we already have to these VVVVVVIP’s can get to where they need to sign off on all these face to face trade deals/treaties etc. We just hosted a ‘bit of a do’ in Cornwall and every one seemed… Read more »
We will have to agree to disagree then.
What I do know is that Britannia’s presence in Lisbon was a real bonus to trade when I visited.
I think a trade flagship is a great thing for the UK to have, particularly when have left the EU, and are reestablishing ourselves as an independent country.
We are no longer trying to be a member of the EU club, and having another point of difference is a bonus.
Bravo.
Its this point that seems to escape so many commenters who just see the ship as a super yacht. Its a marketing tool for British industry. When marketing there is constant competition to attract customers and achieve share of mind with them, this ship will be a tool to help achieve that.
I am really struggling to understand this idea that some important foreign entity, be they a businessman, organisation, global corporate, dignitary or nation state, is somehow going to have their opinion influenced in the UK’s favour after visiting this boat?
As if, before said entity stepped aboard, they were unsure about entering into some agreement with a UK partner, but once within the impressive surrounds of this boat, they are all of a sudden overwhelmed with admiration and confidence in British industry and geo-political swagger?
Get a grip!
What yourself and others don’t appreciate is that marketing is not an exact science. There is an old adage on the topic – “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” Consequently marketing comes in many different forms and an entity will use multiple approaches to influence a prospective customer. It doesn’t matter if it is a business, an industry or a government. The ship will be both a practical asset as well as a brand tool to advertise the UK. A customer rarely makes a decision to purchase based on… Read more »
My goodness that comes across as a convoluted and overly drawn out means of bringing home the bacon, if ever I’ve seen one.
How about the good old age adage of simply besting whoever it is you are competing against with simple metrics like performance vs peers and value to the dollar? You know, like those Swedish, German, French, Italian and Korean contractors are required to do to survive?
Looks crap, like something from the 50’s or 60’s.
Agreed: we need to do better.
That picture is probably not what the final product will look like.
Its harking back to the days of old, Boris likes to do that.
Not really a fan of this idea, maybe there are convincing reasons to have this ship but I’m not aware of them. I’d rather see extra T31/26 or River class than one of these. Business and trade has moved on since the old days of CEO’s and investors etc being impressed and swayed by a luxury ship – for a start, their one is probably bigger and better appointed than this proposed throwback to the Edwardian era. It smacks of a vanity project for Boris and Co. and is a diversion of funds. Surely some of the tasking could be… Read more »
£200m wouldn’t buy you the steel for a type 26/31 Class it as a Aid Ship
It would pay for more sailors or a couple of helicopters or increased weapon fit etc, £200m plus annual running cost and crew will not be peanuts for the MOD to cover.
The shelf price of T31 is £250 million. I can assure you building the hull, heck even putting the machinery inside doesn’t cost £200 million.
Didn’t think we would see another ship like this again for the navy with the budget been tight,and with RN short on manpower .But always good to fly the flag .Bet Tony Blair not happy has he was not a fan of the Royal yacht .Still good for UK 🇬🇧
Any actual evidence it’s good for the UK? Considering no other country has one, and people use airplanes to cross counties, I do wonder if it has any real value beyond vanity. Is a country really going to sign a trade deal because of a fancy yacht being using for the negotiations or are they going to sign it based on what is best for their own country.
Norway and Denmark do.
Decent sized vessels too.
Several middle east countries use yachts paid for by the states for leaders.
Not sure we won’t to be compared to middle Eastern countries, who’s leaders use the state’s wealth as their personal piggy bank
Middle east yachts tend to not be publicised on what they are doing or which location they are, I doubt the UK effort will be shrouded in such secrecy.
Oh good, I mean the MoD is flush with cash isn’t it so no problem at all!
No doubt better off with Extra Frigate or Destroyer at moment 👍
As if the Tories haven’t wasted enough cash on dodgy PPE and track and trace contracts, now they go and build an absolute waste of space yacht that has no use in the modern era whatsoever. Using defence money for this is an added burn, at a time where the army’s procurement programme is an absolute shambles and ships are ridiculously under armed. What an absolute joke of a government.
What a joke of a comment more like. Straight out of the student union book of politics.
Care to point out which part of that is incorrect?
I don’t think it is that it is “incorrect”, It is the underlying bias in every pore. I doubt Robert can be bothered but I’m bored so will have a go. “As if the Tories haven’t wasted enough cash on dodgy PPE” Would have been the same in such a national emergency, procuring such a vast amount in near panic in such a short time with whoever was in charge. You really think the Lib Dems or Labour would have done ANY BETTER and not also made mistakes? Hundreds of billions have been spent trying to protect the people of… Read more »
The vast majority of contracts went through hastily because it was an emergency, which is fair enough. Many of these were legitimate and went to businesses that at least had some experience with medical supplies. However there was definitely some shady goings on such as Matt Handcocks ex neighbour who ran a pub getting a contract to supply medical vials. I don’t know how the lib dems or labour would have done, but we can at least compare the response to other countries. Countries that actually shut their borders… The delta variant would not be an issue in this country… Read more »
Can you point out which major economic countries exactly closed the borders successfully to avoid the Delta variant? Considering its now in over 80 countries world wide (known so far many of which wont have sequencing capability so probably alot more). Yes any government in power would have hastily made decisions on procuring PPE, it was a massive stick the press and the opposition used to beat the government with at the time. Which is a minor point everyone is over looking, the opposition with the pressure and slandering they did also have a hand to play in this. At… Read more »
Australia and New Zealand have both done a fantastic job. Restricting borders has kept breakouts to a minimum. When a leaker does get through the quarantine system then the lack of community case numbers means the combination of a very effective track and trace system and when necessary the use of relatively short term lockdowns have kept the lid on the virus….in various forms including the Delta…touch wood ..so far.
Vaccine role out however…total cock-up!
New Zealand is hardly a world centre for trade and finance like the UK is. Apart from their own people who would notice their border is closed? And as for track and trace and all the rest, how many people do they have compared to our 60 odd million?
There are good and bad points to come out of this tragedy concerning the actions of HMG. But highlighting the good is not “the agenda”
Now Daniele…..size isn’t everything……it’s what you do with it that matters…and our ANZ cousins have done a fantastic job.
Basic rule of Pandemic management…stop people moving.
In Australia much of the success is also due to State level protocols and State border closures. Compare their outcome to any nation in the UK of any size or any of the US States including the really really small populations in places like the financial and trade epicentres of N or S Dakotas which have smaller populations than NZ…and again…the ANZ locations have smashed it.
Give them credit.
Happy to give them credit Pete, that was not the thrust of my post at all and sorry if it came across that way. It is easier with fewer people to manage. I remember the outrage when local lockdowns were suggested here and tens of thousands packed London stations to “escape” Do we close the stations and railways too? There are already the crazy Orwellian state accusations going round over government heavy handedness and civil liberties during lockdown as it is. Can you imagine the reaction on social media and the BBC to the army and police deployed on the… Read more »
Understand the protest issues but the same protests and escape attempts occur in Oz. Picture scenes from mad Max as people head to the border’s ahead of State closures and physical roadblocks going up…..or face 14 days quarantine. Indeed, the ADF were occasionally deployed to support police in patrolling state border regions….think it was between NSW and Vic. Didnt mean to suggest county level closures but the UK equivalent would have been Scottish/ English border or Irish Sea closure or English channel closure. Not much passenger interstate rail travel in Australia but the airports are the equivalent to rail stations… Read more »
Quite mate, likewise! Stay safe and thanks for the insights.
You might also throw in the UK as a major international travel hub which probably made it well nigh impossible to have ever prevented it arriving and spreading widely in the first place. NZ and Oz are largely end point destinations.
Tourism is if not the first, one of the biggest sectors of the NZ economy. That did not stop the government from doing what is right and shutting the borders. That is one of the basic rules of 101 Pandemic. For anyone to say here that the UK response to Covid has been anything but poor, reveals an unwillingness to see facts and reality for what they are. End of the day, the UK could have done better. To say that should not make you a traitor or some sort of political outcast. Yet for various reasons these days, it… Read more »
NZ did a good job of closing its borders in late March. The UK could have done a better job but it was probably too late, even had they done so at the same time and to the same degree as NZ, given the earlier Covid19 spread/effect in the Northern Hemisphere. The issue however, throughout this pandemic, has been an unwillingness on the part of many in populations around the world to accept advice and take sensible measures. Unfortunately there are many countries around the world that could have done better in one aspect or another regarding Covid19. The UK… Read more »
Exactly.
As mentioned New Zealand cant be put in the major economic countries categories as its exceptionally isolated and was in a great position to do what it did. Australia took a hard line from early on which I dont disagree with but internally it has huge advantages of sparse populations on a huge land mass, its very easy to stop people going from one city to another and spreading it, UK this was impossible. In relation to the Delta variant the UK put India on the red list (effectively making it similarly hard as Australia to get into) before the… Read more »
Nope, because they are not Tories therefore that is not on “the agenda”
No, just no. Waste of time and precious MOD budget. No one will be impressed by this and it will play badly with a majority here I’m sure.
Bojos private yacht is now taking money from the military. Great
I think you’ll find he will rarely set foot on it.
Why do you feel the need to defend the prime minister so much in this article?
Why not? I will defend anyone if I think comments are unjustified.
Where is any evidence WHATSOEVER that this is his personal brainchild and designed it in his bathtub? It is just Boris bashing for the sake of it IMO.
Agree with the concept or disagree with the concept HMG are trying to advertise and sell this nation to folk abroad.
Perhaps the UK should just hide in a bin and close the lid…..sure we’d be very successful that way FFS….
Blinkers galore.
As someone says, the ship will be charged for it’s users…
There are lots of opportunities. East Coast of America. The West. How wide is the St Lawrence Seaway. Doesn’t India have a coastline? The far East. The world is a lot bigger than the EU.
And none of them will be impressed by Boris turning up in this. Any potential trading partners will be far more concerned with what a deal gives them.
Who says Boris is going to turn up in it?
You are the one making all that up.
I am sure VIPs will be involved seem sensible enough.
The MOD loses 200million every time it sneezes. The cost for this is minute compared to the value it offers.
The PM, Royalty or others in the entourage would, in my opinion, fly to the host city like anyone else. They could then use the ship for hosting trade delegations, entertaining, wining and dining, twisting opinions to our way. Great Britain has a long history of diplomacy and soft power I’m confident they know what they are doing.
Im fairly sure alot of trade deals have been signed up ‘under the influence’ why not turn up in a floating bar, might get us some great deals over the years!
Thats the way it will probably happen the British delegates will travel to the conference country by plane and the hosting will take place on the ship .
Can we not few more CH3 tanks instead 😥
NO! 😃
Lol
I know mate. I’d have maintained number we had in 3 regiments and around 200. We do not need more.
Think was last year David gosling died and left £50 million in trust to pay for new royal yacht or training ship. If that’s still on offer it’s not a bad deal with other donations .
Now he was a top ex matelot.
He arranged tickets to West end shows for ships visiting London. Names in a hat for those wishing to go… I was drawn out and a pair of tickets for Miss Saigon center of the circle! Mrs Gunbuster was impressed… Hell I even wore a tie!
I am not against the idea of a “national flagship”, but agree the money should come from the trade & foreign office budgets. £200m would fill some of the empty silos in the first 3 T26. I would rather spend MoD money on that.
I support its construction, just not from MoD budget.
Agree should be from Trade Dept can be crewed and used by Royal Navy – great training and also prestige but still not initial cost to be funded by MOD. I think some long term political strategy is being played here as in the future the MOD will say this is the first things to cut before they get given money to fund it as else you lose national prestige.
Agreed. Military budget should only be spent on Military assets – nothing else.
It has to be military or it’s a global tender…
Maybes the MOD pay for it and the trade dept can accidently transfer £200 million to the MOD over a few years to ahem ‘rent’ the boat.
Pretty much. I know of assets that are “owned” by the MoD but are certainly not operated or paid for by them. There are ways round it.
I’m against it coming from the defence budget but neutral on the project.
I’m curious does anyone else have something like this?
Glaring Mistake in the Artists impression and should of paid more attention to the Brittania and its 3 masts. also, don’t forget what the Royal Yacht got up to on its travels that were never disclosed. Another way of putting £200m into the Country Pockets and considering Its £200m from the Budget which is equal to what 1-5th of a type 26. sell the C130J fLeet or the fact the MOD just sold a E-3 Back to the USAF for a nice sum. Have some Pride and something to be proud of. Maybe cut the Achoholic Support to the piss… Read more »
From the defence budget. Really? Dept of Trade should be footing the bill or better still don’t build HMS White Elephant at all!
I think this should be thought of more as a floating embassy, and another tool to represent the incredible brand that is Great Britain and our soft power capabilities. And the massive draw of the Royal Family. Even in this day and age of zoom calls and mass online business. The thought of a GnT in the company of a member of the Royal family, still makes many a CEO week at the knee’s. Don’t be quick to write this off. And I’d bet serious money, the final design will look much more graceful compared to the CGI mockup. 🇬🇧
Agreed mate. I’m all for it as discussed in earlier articles but just not out of the MoD budget with other issues with finances ongoing.
Yeah I agree mate. Maybe the money will be found from long talked about efficiency savings in the MOD. Maybe the final outcome will be a funding split between the MOD and industry.
But will Prince Harry and his lovely wife be allowed to use it? lol
I’ve seen a number of headlines saying the cost is coming out of the MOD budget. I haven’t seen any quotes from ministers explicitly saying that though. Anyone got any links where they do? Ministers are talking about funding “through” the MOD and govt “underwriting” the purchase, neither of which automatically means it comes from the MOD budget. Possibly worth considering which ministry in govt. is in the best position based on knowledge and experience to manage the purchase of such a ship? That would seem to be the MOD. Wallace is also ship building czar, with a broader remit… Read more »
So, a balanced post at last, rather than screams about Boris yacht…. 🙄
I try 😉
I’d be amazed if MOD money is used for this ship, the negative PR just wouldn’t be worth it apart from other reasons. Regarding cost, the UK could blow £200M on advertising a Buy British campaign in markets around the world in a heartbeat. In comparison, a ship like this might even get free media coverage where it visits, helping to advertise the UK brand, before factoring in other trade advantages.
Perhaps an MOD funded ‘National Flagship’ crewed by the RN creates an environment where this ship can be re-purposed at short notice. A ship such as this could lend itself to certain clandestine MOD activities in times of turmoil and unrest. I suggest the electronics fit-out would be substantial.
With operating costs that’s probably one E7 Wedgetail that they just cut.
This should not be from MOD budget.
The Royals getting a new plane and now a new ship. Damn. How do I get on that gravy train? lol
How many aircraft does POTUS use?
For me as a flag buff the most intriguing question is-which Ensign will she fly? If she is christened HMS then naturally it will be the White. If she joins the Merchant Navy(which er, might be a little..well you know, below par for the Royals) then it would be the Red Duster, but if she lies in the in-between land of Government vessels/RFA then it will be the Blue. The question is-will it be plain or defaced?
These are the heavy questions that tax my mind this chilly African winters morn… 😀
Hello Cap’n. I’m small g geoff from Durban. Hope you are well!
There’s some great answers posted before me. I’ll be crude: it’s a vanity b*llocks project that just adds to national debt, adds to tasking an undermanned Royal Navy and if we really need this, then close the Embassies – oh wait, what do Embassies do?
Bluffer Blojo spaffing cash, the t*sser.
I just can not reason why anyone can have confidence in him.
Should the platform be built, hopefully it will use the T31 hull form and gubbins, at least some commonality with a RN Type.
Me neither-Come on you Gers, Remember 1690!! 😂
ps My Jewish-Catholic wife gets cross when I call her a Fenian Yid 😆 But jokes aside, we should be able to say such things 100% in jest without offending..
Lots of misery about this.
But I was aboard its predecessor one time, at an event in Lisbon Harbour.
The ship groaned with the number of VVIPs climbing aboard, and even as a pure trade event, was worth its weight in gold reals.
However, I do think the build budget might be better from elsewhere, or perhaps split with Board of Trade.
How refreshing someone else can see the potential value in this.
Yes, it is who is paying that is the issue not the concept for the vessel.
Although I’m a genral supporter of the Vessel, I cant if it is expected to be paid entirely out of the defence budget. Although I suspect this was a way to silence the “liberal” opposition. They are unlikely to moan so much about a “Tory vanity project” (please note the quotation marks) if its coming from the defence budget.
We have warships sailing fitted for but not with primary weapons systems. Aircraft with no specialist defence suppression or anti ship weapons. Army armoured vehicles fit for museums. And the MOD have to pay for a bloody vanity project??
I give up.
would Charles and his slimmed down monarchy still want this, seems we are getting rid of boots on the ground for a pleasure boat….just my opinion..
When it was first reported on the news , it was also said that Royal s didn’t really want anything to do with it and I certainly don’t think Charles will have any interest in it.
Final thought. You have found £200m down the back of the Downing Street sofa. Do you
a) spend £40 m on improved weapons/ sensors for each of the Type31 frigates or
b) buy a yacht?
It’s not a yacht.
Of course it is. Look at other motor yachts advertised online.
Which are used as…yachts! That implies sun bathing for millionaires off Monte Carlo, the image detractors of course wish to portray.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-national-flagship-to-promote-british-businesses-around-the-world
I see no mention of the term yacht in the above statement? Only from detractors and the tabloids comparing it to HMY Britannia.
It is a trade ship, the description is quite clear in the above statement. The artists impression/ CGI whatever it is on this article is hardly worthy of comparison either.
I don’t agree with the MoD paying but I can envisage the comments on here about lack of commitment to shipbuilding etc if this was cancelled tomorrow. Best case is it brings in money to the UK and increases GDP meaning 200m is well spent and defence budget being linked to GDP goes up. 200m is less than 0.005% of the defence budget.
Why is it flying 2 Union Jack flags?
I don’t see any logic at all behind this royal yacht. It is irrelevant to defence, there are far more pressing needs that £200m could be spent on. We do not need a national yacht to do overseas trade, deals are done largely on capability and price. It’s a dated 1950s concept from the end of empire era. The Royals are most unlikely to want any involvement with it, as there was a lot of public grumbling about the cost of Brittania in its later years, I think they were relieved to get rid of it. It looks to me… Read more »