Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Foreign Shipbuilders

Yet another data point for those who believe that foreign shipbuilders produce better, faster, and cheaper ships.
 
Belgium’s long-running plan to replace its ageing M-class frigates has entered a new and potentially consequential phase. Defence Minister Theo Francken has publicly stated that the joint Dutch-Belgian frigate programme is moving “completely in the wrong direction” on both delivery dates and price …[1]
 
… following a previous extension, recent signals point to further delays of two to three years.[1]

To be clear, this program is in the design phase, not actual construction but design is part of the build and the design costs and schedule delays are real.
 
 
 
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[1]Naval News website, “Belgium Eyes ASWF Alternatives as Damen Timeline and Costs Soar”, Tayfun Ozberk, 21-Jul-2026,
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2026/07/belgium-aswf-frigate-alternatives-damen-delays/
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5 comments:

  1. SpikedpsychoSeptember 8, 2026 at 6:19 AM

    Yeah in Turkey.
    One is issue of Turkey growing domestic defense sector, eating up most manufacturing resources. Defense pacts which require it to commit significant resources.
    2nd: Turkey's ever growing schit list of internal social political problems, that stem from....
    3rd: Corruption, Ubiquitous in Turkey. Lack of female participation in the workforce slices it's potential capacity to hire engineers and potential workforce is heavily curtailed. Women can weld... sure did Rivet. Banking issues make it essentially impossible to secure loan guarantees for shipyards to put hulls on order. "Hand Shake" and honor businesses don't respond well to corrupt banks and corrupt businesses. Case in point, Who built Israel' Navy?
    - Saar 5: Hungington Ingalls Mississippi
    - Saar 6: Blohm and Voss/ Lurrssen.
    - Submarines; Kruyp.

    Bulk it's navy is outsourced, because their ship industry is essentially Crap and navy wouldn't trust domestic industry to do it anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ComNavOpsSeptember 8, 2026 at 8:06 AM

      I have no idea what point you're trying to make. You start by talking about Turkey then apparently switch to Israel with no obvious connection and finally an unspecified "navy". In addition, your comment borders on politics and sociology which are outside the scope of the blog. I'm considering removing the comment as too confusing. Please offer some clarification if you wish it to remain. Thank you.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2026 at 10:20 AM

      The issue is Turkish Authorities have launched an investigation into 33 shipyard companies, 2 trade associations, and 1 consultancy firm. belgium turned to Turkey to consolidate those frigates. Damen eyed multiple nations for their production, new information casting these issues in doubt.
      https://www.turkiyetoday.com/region/belgium-turns-to-turkiye-4-eu-states-for-frigates-as-dutch-deal-sours-3224326

      Result, entire industry is in a tailspin 10% decline in orders, 25% reduction labor; to re-coop loss, amortize the finances by raising the price of the ship.

      This wasn't new news, it's maritime industry issues; have been in the news since 2014 and occurs top down.

      https://www.ft.com/content/c1544f0e-a3bd-11e3-88b0-00144feab7de?syn-25a6b1a6=1

      This issue is not so much the danger of outsourcing but focus more on the danger of sub-Contracting and role reliability in trusting a sub-Contractor. EU may/probbaly knew about the corruption but languished it anyway because Turkey so "essential" as NATO partner.

      In reversal of fortune; Israel knew about their own corruption to begin with, hired shipyards they knew would do it right.

      ---------------
      The new frigates means Netherlands/Belgian navies are 140 meters long, Belgium simply lacks suitable drydock capacity to construct vessels long in timely matter without competing economy vessels.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2026 at 9:03 AM

    Cost aside, but another data point would be Japan's Mogami class frigate, the first of which was commissioned in April 2022 with the 10th unit commissioned this past June. The 11th unit is due to be commissioned by the end of the year.

    South Korea's Incheon and Daegu class frigates are two other data points.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2026 at 9:18 AM

    Speaking of Foreign Shipbuilding & Frigates:
    https://news.usni.org/2026/09/01/japanese-south-korean-turkish-warships-under-consideration-for-new-u-s-frigate-competition

    ReplyDelete

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