KOFACTS ABOUT BARROW SHIPYARD
- Barrow’s "digital" shipyard is currently the only UK site licensed for design, build, test and commissioning of nuclear-powered submarines.
- BAE Systems, Barrow, site is its largest UK manufacturing site (2025). The shipyard and associated site facilities extend over 170-acres. Part has a nuclear site licence enabling design, build, test, commissioning of nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Navy.
- Three Classes of Nuclear Powered Submarine are being designed and built at Barrow Shipyard with the support of its UK wide Supply Chain.
- They are the Astute class SSN and Dreadnought class SSBN submarine programmes for the Royal Navy and the SSN-A, Aukus submarine programme for the Royal Navy and Australia’s Navy.
- Around 13,000 highly skilled people are employed at Barrow. There are also 1,000 supporting contractors. Babcock, Rolls-Royce, the Submarine Delivery Agency the Dreadnought Alliance are also based there.
- 2025 Apprentice and graduate intakes will add over 800 people to the workforce. Further increases are anticipated in succeeding years.
- more and more people who work in naval shipbuilding and its supply chain are choosing to live and work in Furness Back in 2011 only 75% of the shipyard workforce lived in Furness, by 2022 this had risen to around 89%. There is every reason to believe that this upward trend can continue as the area seeks to capitalise on its ability to attract key skills into a high quality environment of the Furness area.
- Over the past 15 years – 7,000 more skilled people have been added to the shipyard workforce. Back in 2003 the workforce was only 2,900.In 2009 it was 5,000.
- Barrow shipyard began designing and building nuclear-powered submarines in 1958.
- Over £1bn has been invested in new shipyard facilities since 2014-15.
- The shipyard is continuing to invest in new facilities:
- Its Project Spartan will enhance training research and development capacity.
- 23-acres of former port land will be transformed with new capacity.
- In Barrow a new facility called “The Bridge” will open in 2025.
- New training facilities will follow in 2025-26 at Waterfront Gateway and in the town centre at a Portland Walk Campus.
BAE Systems also opened a satellite facility in Coventry at the end of 2024.
• £7.5 billion will be spent with approximately 1,500 UK suppliers in the first and second tier over the life of the Dreadnought programme. It spent over £600 million with UK suppliers in 2019. The majority of this spend was on manufacturing (58%), followed by construction (16%) and engineering (15%).
• The planned supply chain includes the following highlights across the country:
- Submarine structures, power systems and sensors from the North West;
- Gearboxes and steel from Yorkshire; - Nuclear steam raising plant and mechanical handling systems from the East Midlands; - Engines from the