MINISTERS want to develop a new approach to warship contracts to end the "feast or famine" of orders that has plagued Southampton based Vosper Thornycroft.

The government's process for ordering military and commercial ships may be altered to bring forward the tendering process in some cases.

Although the ships themselves would not be built more quickly, it would allow ship-builders more certainty over their future order books.

Ministers will encourage commercial customers to take a similar approach, hoping that it will keep more British shipyards in business and so deliver long term competition.

However, such a move could run the risk of placing contracts based on costings or technology which become out of date once building actually starts.

Stephen Byers, the trade and industry secretary, will set out the plan at a meeting for shipping industry figures and government departments in the next six weeks.

Vosper Thornycroft and Ministry of Defence procurement chiefs will be among those invited.

Mr Byers revealed his plans when addressing regional journalists at a Newspaper Conference lunch in London.

He said: "We won't make the mistakes of the past when tenders for warships amounted to feast or famine.

"A glut of orders would come along and then for five years there would be nothing.

"We have to find a better way as it is important that we secure orders in a way that we can get value for money but ensure that there is effective competition."

Mr Byers said this approach was being used to bring forward tenders for two alternative landing ships logistic (ALSL) for which Appledore, Govan, Cammell Laird, Harland & Wolff and Swan Hunter were invited to bid.

Vosper Thornycroft has been a prime example of this feast or famine syndrome.

In recent years it has won substantial orders such as to build mine hunters for the Navy yet subsequently laid off workers due to a shortage of forward orders.

Mr Byers said Britain was on the verge of the "biggest ever programme of warship building in the UK" and said prospects for commercial ship yards were bright as trade barriers came down.

The MoD plans to order 12 Type 45 destroyers for the Royal Navy, costing about £270 million each. Vosper is expected to build at least one in Woolston and may bid to build up to four.

Vosper is also building the trimaran Research Vessel Triton for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency.

Mr Byers refused to comment on speculation that the French defence group Thomson-CSF, which bought Racal Electronics, might mount a £500 million take-over bid for Vospers.

Mr Byers said: "Vosper Thornycroft have denied the story since. I am not going to be able to comment.

"I almost certainly, if a bid is made, will have to deal with it wearing my competition authority hat, in a quasi-judicial capacity."

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