BAE seeks international warship orders to remain buoyant

The future of British warship building lies in the hands of export customers, as BAE Systems seeks new orders to keep its sites on the Clyde and at Portsmouth and Bristol busy once the current batch of Royal Navy destroyers and aircraft carriers is finished.

BAE, which took full control of its naval shipbuilding joint venture with VT Group last month, is pursuing orders in Oman and North Africa, as well as looking for opportunities in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Australia where other divisions of BAE have significant businesses.

"We have to put the ground work in now to develop these markets," said Alan Johnston, managing director of the newly-formed surface ships business.

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