U.K. Orders Six RoRo Ferries; Four Amphibious Ships

The British government placed much-anticipated contracts for six RoRo ferries with two going to UK yards, and four going to a German shipyard. Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon also announced he would place orders for four amphibious landing ships, split between the Swan Hunter shipyard in North-East England and the Govan yards in Glasgow. Two of the ferries will be built by Belfast's Harland & Wolff yard, which built the ill-fated Titanic and is owned by Norway's Fred Olsen Energy. The others will be built by the Flensburger yard in Germany.