A shipbuilder for the Royal Navy faces an uncertain wait for steel to construct three warships due to a cash shortage at the Scottish steel mill that secured the contract. Liberty Steel Dalzell in Scotland has been unable to start full production because of a lack of cash flow to purchase raw materials, despite an order to supply 34,000 tonnes of metal plates for the fleet solid support (FSS) ships.
The cash shortage highlights ongoing financial troubles for companies owned by metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, who has lost control of several parts of his GFG Alliance empire since the 2021 collapse of his key lender, Greensill Capital. The Dalzell mill has not filed accounts for five years, and Gupta faces prosecution for this failure, as well as a fraud investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.
Sir David Murray, a Scottish metals magnate, has called on the UK government to intervene and pressure Liberty Steel to hand over control of the plant. He has expressed willingness to run the business and believes it could be profitable within two years with an investment of £50 million. The FSS ships, designed to carry munitions and supplies for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, are due to be built in Belfast by Spanish state-owned shipbuilder Navantia, with the first vessel expected in 2031.
Workers at the Dalzell plant have continued to receive 80% of their salaries, but small trial runs in November processed only about 1,000 tonnes, representing roughly three days of output. Liberty Steel hopes to restart production in the coming weeks, though industry figures have expressed scepticism. A Liberty Steel spokesperson stated that the plant is fulfilling the Navantia order and that trial production runs are expected to resume shortly.
