Damen shipyards, changing clients, and British build politics

How should Damen and Dutch shipyard design and infrastructure be assessed?

Damen is assessed favourably for design and transparent pricing. Repeated requirement changes raise costs, while British politics favours domestic construction.

Damen is assessed as a capable builder that makes the cost of customer changes visible. Repeatedly changing a design can therefore make the programme appear expensive to the customer. German requirements provide the example. For Britain, a Dutch design faces a further constraint: ordering major warships abroad is politically difficult unless domestic yards are visibly full.