// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Faslane dry docks and research ship to be built in UK, says chancellor
The new dry docks will significantly enhance capacity at the Faslane naval base in the Firth of Clyde
Orders for three floating dry docks, worth £6bn, to maintain the Royal Navy's nuclear-powered submarine fleet at Faslane will go to a UK-based shipbuilder, the chancellor has confirmed.
John Healey told the Labour conference the facilities were vital to national security and would support domestic shipbuilding as part of a "new age of industrialisation".
A UK-only bidding competition will decide who builds the floating docks but Navantia UK, which owns sites in Fife and Belfast, is seen as a frontrunner.
Healey has also pledged £115m for construction in the UK of a new marine research vessel to replace Cefas Endeavour, built by the Ferguson shipyard on the Clyde more than 20 years ago.
He told delegates in Liverpool: "I want to confirm today that we, this government will commit to £6bn of contracts for our British shipyards.
"They'll build the new docks for the submarines that will defend us all for decades to come, built in Britain by British workers because of the decisions of this Labour government."
Submarines are currently hoisted clear of the water inside the shiplift building at Faslane
The investment is part of a wider £15bn upgrade of the Faslane site, on the eastern side of Gare Loch, over the coming decade.
Floating dry docks are structures that can be submerged to allow a ship or submarine to enter. They are then raised and emptied of water, enabling inspections, maintenance and repair.