This report, developed in collaboration with the United Kingdom’s National Shipbuilding Office, provides an in-depth assessment of the opportunities and challenges facing the UK shipbuilding and ship repair industry. Building on detailed analysis of global market trends, peer economies and domestic capabilities, the report identifies priority segments where the UK could strengthen its competitive position and enhance long-term resilience. The study underscores the importance of improving data availability, skills intelligence, and knowledge exchange to support effective decision-making across government and industry. It also examines the role of government in addressing market distortions, supporting related industries, fostering innovation, and advancing the digitalisation and decarbonisation of the UK maritime sector. The report offers a set of evidence-based recommendations to help revitalise production capabilities, reinforce the skills base, modernise facilities, strengthen supply chains, and create a predictable environment that enables strategic investment and sustainable growth.
Peer Review of the United Kingdom Shipbuilding Industry
Abstract
Executive summary
Over the past year, the OECD Shipbuilding Unit has been co-ordinating with the United Kingdom’s National Shipbuilding Office on a project to strengthen the evidence base and informing policy to support the country’s shipbuilding and ship repair industry. This collaboration has resulted in three reports.
Data is a key issue which impacts knowledge, decision-making, and co-ordination at international, national, and nations’ levels. Challenges and solutions exist along three domains: industry classification, data production and availability, and knowledge exchange. Addressing data issues will have far-reaching benefits for industry and government action (DSTI/SBC(2025)9).
A key challenge for the sector is the lack of harmonised and comprehensive information on skills and skills needs, which affects planning, workforce development, and the ability to match the right skills to the right place at the right time. Issues and potential solutions emerge across three areas: the definition of skills concepts, the availability and quality of data sources, and the methodologies used to assess skills needs. Addressing these gaps would provide significant benefits for industry and policymakers in the United Kingdom.
In the non-defence space, the United Kingdom has faced a decline in its global market share and production capabilities. Globally, shipbuilding has grown in the twenty-first century; the key players have changed.
Resilience among peer shipbuilding economies (Norway, the Netherlands, and Italy) has tended to exist alongside specialisation into high-value segments, export orientation, and a positive reputation. The comparative analysis suggests the following market segments as potential opportunities for the UK.
Government rationales for intervention to realise these opportunities exist in regard to contextual market distortions, related industries, ‘public needs’ and public procurement, skilled labour, digital transformation, innovation and emerging technologies, and Net Zero.
For competitive specialisation to be successful, policy support for revitalisation of key points which influence production capabilities is needed: advanced facilities (digital transformation), skilled labour, a predictable and accommodating regulatory environment, enhanced innovation and commercialisation support, infrastructure development, supply chain security and a comprehensive approach towards cross-sectoral issues.
