Defence officials worry supply ships will be further delayed

Defence officials are concerned that the government’s project to buy new supply ships, already behind schedule, could be further delayed, according to documents obtained by the Citizen.

The Joint Support Ships, which will be used to resupply and refuel navy vessels at sea, were originally supposed to be in the water in 2012. That attempt to buy the vessels foundered and a new date for the ships to be fully operating was set at 2019. That was later delayed to 2020, when the vessels are supposed to reach their full operational capability (FOC).

But construction of the Joint Support Ships (JSS) has yet to begin and the Conservative government is considering leasing a commercial tanker to provide a stop-gap until the new fleet is up and running.

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