The U.K. government yesterday announced the launch of a new finance scheme to support shipbuilding in the U.K..
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) announced that it hopes that the Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme (SCGS) will create hundreds of UK jobs and contribute hundreds of millions to the UK economy.
The SCGS works by guaranteeing a percentage of the value of loans used to purchase, refit, retrofit or repair vessels, thereby encouraging lenders to offer finance to British ship owners and operators.
Shipbuilding is an integral part of the UK’s industrial identity and through this scheme we are backing our great maritime businesses to get ahead of the competition.
… said Minister for industry, Nusrat Ghani
SCGS forms part of the government’s £4bn plan to revitalise UK shipbuilding and coastal communities through the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh that was announced last year.
The original strategy was launched by the Ministry of Defence in 2017, with the refreshed version reportedly including new priorities, such as decarbonisation and levelling up, with an additional £4bn worth of funding commitments.
It is a positive step that the government is investing in UK shipbuilding and the infrastructure around it. Launching the SCGS will help build confidence with investors looking to purchase domestically built vessels.
… said Marco Forgione, director general of the Institute of Export & International Trade
To remind, the U.K. government made another important move for the maritime industry this week, by launching The Seafarers’ Charter to support seafarer employment protections and welfare.
