Ark Royal sets sail after refit

Ark Royal sails after its refit

Chancellor Gordon Brown has visited the Royal Navy's biggest aircraft carrier, before it sailed into the Firth of Forth after a £147m refit.

Mr Brown climbed aboard HMS Ark Royal at the Rosyth dockyard in Fife, where the refitting work was carried out, for a tour of the vessel.

He spoke of his confidence in the future of the shipyard industry, rejected suggestions the Government had failed workers at the Scotstoun and Govan shipyards on the Clyde.

Earlier this week, the owner of the Glasgow yards, BAE Systems announced 1,000 job losses.

Gordon Brown: "Skilled workmanship"

The job losses came despite winning a Ministry of Defence contract for Type 45 destroyers.

Mr Brown, MP for Dunfermline East which includes Rosyth, said: "This is a programme for 12 type 45s - six have already been commissioned. It's work for the future. This is safeguarding the future of yards.

"I think it's important to recognise that with the scale of investment that is now being put in, there are jobs that are far more safe than they would have been years ago."

HMS Ark Royal is the fifth Royal Navy ship to bear the name and it arrived at Rosyth in May 1999 for the refit by Babcocks Engineering Services.

The work, which secured hundreds of jobs at the yard, included strengthening the flight-deck for new Merlin anti-submarine helicopters and equipping her to carry RAF ground attack GR7 jump-jets,

Skilled workmanship

During the busiest period, about 500 people worked on the refit which will extend the ship's lifespan by 15 years until the expected arrival of a new generation of super-carriers.

Mr Brown said: "I am very proud of what's been achieved at Rosyth.

"It's tremendously skilled workmanship and equally they are winning civilian contracts as well as military contracts.

"And as we see the expansion of Rosyth Europarc as well and 1,000 jobs, we are seeing in place of jobs that had to be lost in the defence industry new civilian jobs created so the future for Rosyth is good because of the skills of the workforce."

Captain David Snelson, who will lead the Ark's crew of almost 600, said the completion of work was "a moment of immense satisfaction and pride".

He added: "Babcock quality is excellent. "Many of the areas they have serviced, particularly the accommodation, have been done to a high standard."

He added sea trials would now take place in the North Sea for approximately three weeks after which the vessel would return to Fife to allow for summer leave before heading back to its base in Portsmouth.