A union has claimed the long wait to send Britain’s RAF Dragon warship out to the Mediterranean was due to a resupply contract that led to staff working shorter hours
The delay in deploying HMS Dragon are the result of ‘cost-cutting’ measures introduced last year, the Prospect Union has suggested.
The union alleges that the Portsmouth naval base has altered its around-the-clock staffing model in favour of a standard 9-to-5, weekday-only operation – which is disputed by the MoD and private contractor Serco.
The HMS Dragon vessel is being prepared to leave Portsmouth and head to the Mediterranean to defend a British military base, but the ship might not even set off until next week.
The warship has been the centre of a massive row and growing tensions over the government’s response to attacks in the Middle East – launched when the US and Israel attack Iran and killed the supreme leader on Saturday.
A drone hit the UK’s Royal Air Force base on Cyprus – RAF Akrotiri – and Cyprus has slammed Britain and accused it of being too slow to act
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The Ministry of Defence signed a new contract with the contractor that leads His Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth – home to the HMS Dragon warship.
The Type 45 destroyer remains in Portsmouth while it stocks on ammunition and undergoes welding. In October 2025, private firm Serco put into place a new contract by the MoD for services at the Portsmouth base.
This new deal reportedly changed work hours and switched round-the-clock staffing at the site to more 9-5 shifts on weekdays. The Prospect union has claimed this new deal and reduced work hours led to workers and the forces taking longer to get the battleship ready to defend the UK’s base on Cyprus.
The union said members at Serco Marine Services have come forward to work on weekends and evenings to ready HMS Dragon. But Prospect believes that HMS Dragon would have been ready sooner under the previous contract.
The general secretary of Prospect, Mike Clancy, said: “Our members are stepping up to help, but such a vital service shouldn’t be dependent on good will from staff. Out-of-hours support should be locked into the contract. This contract has failed its first real encounter with a serious crisis, and must be urgently reviewed and rectified.”
Both the MoD and Serco have hit back at the union’s claims and said it has “fulfilled every task” asked by the Navy. A spokesperson for the private firm said: “HMS Dragon is being prepared to sail with the full support of our dedicated teams in Portsmouth.
“Serco has fulfilled every task requested by the Royal Navy on time and to the agreed standard. Any suggestion that the working patterns of Serco employees have impacted HMS Dragon’s ability to sail is completely untrue.”
Serco also said the main working day at the Portsmouth naval base is 7am to 7pm under the contract, according to The Telegraph. Staff at the base reportedly went on strike last year over the new contract and fears over how the new deal would stand up to operational pressure.
A spokesperson for the MoD said: “All requests that have been made to Serco to support the preparation of the ship have been fulfilled.”
Although it was initially through Iran launched the drone that hit the RAF base, it is now believed to have been sent over by pro-Iranian militias in either Lebanon or Iraq.
