Arrival of British warship delayed due to navy union shift plan

The arrival in Cyprus of the British warship Dragon, scheduled next week, has been delayed as the personnel responsible for its preparation are subject to cost cutting by the British defence ministry, meaning they will not work at the weekend.

Citing the union representing the staff at the Portsmouth naval base, the Daily Telegraph said the workers’ schedule had been strictly reduced to a 9am to 5pm on weekdays, slowing down the preparation process required for the vessel launch for Cyprus.

The union’s General Secretary Mike Clancy said that due to these circumstances, the Dragon could not be made ready any quicker despite the staff’s best efforts.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the present delays will result in the ship reaching the island’s territorial waters in approximately two weeks.

The unions said the issue stemmed from an agreement between Serco Marine Services and the British Ministry of Defence, which prevented the 24-hour operation at the naval base, claiming this was affecting not only the preparation of the Dragon but its operational functionality.

The British defence ministry’s Alistair Carns rejected the union’s claims, saying that the delay was due to the vessel needing to be reconfigured before departing for Cyprus.

“What I will say is that the vessel was being fitted out for a different task. We’ve now completely re-rolled it,” he said in an interview with Sky News.

Carns said that the Dragon needed to undergo maintenance works, as well as a change of the weapon system and the finishing of its welding, however stressed that the British government was committed “to make sure that as fast as possible we can get that system up and running.”