Vital Navy support hampered by 9 to 5 resupply contract, delaying HMS Dragon’s deployment

Prospect says a recently renegotiated MoD contract providing in-port services including ship movement (tugs), resupply and rearmament may be directly contributing to the widely reported delays in the deployment of HMS Dragon.

The contract provided by Serco marine was put in place in October last year. In an effort to cut costs compared to the previous one, the contract only provides capacity for resupply and rearmament on a 9-to-5 weekday basis.

As part of the change, 21 posts in Portsmouth were made redundant with 17 people leaving their posts in October 2025.

Prospect members at Serco marine are now volunteering to work evenings and the weekends to get HMS Dragon ready for deployment following events in the Middle East. Prospect believes that under the old contract HMS Dragon would be ready sooner.

Prospect members went on strike last year to protest the new contract, warning that it would not stand up to any kind of operational pressure.

Mike Clancy, Prospect General Secretary, said:

“Our members warned when this contract was negotiated that it was based on the fantasy that conflict only occurs between nine and five on weekdays and that cutting additional support would have serious consequences. Staff took industrial action to try to prevent this situation, but they were ignored by their employer and the MoD.

“Prospect members are stepping up to help, but such a vital service shouldn’t be dependent on good will from staff, out of hours support should be locked into the contract.

“This contract has failed its first real encounter with a serious crisis, it must be urgently reviewed and rectified.”