An increased number of defects in newly built ships has been reported by the UK Defence Club.

About 20 legal battles relating to ship construction quality are being fought by the UK Freight Demurrage & Defence (FD&D) Assoc­iation, which estimates around 18% of expenditure is being devoted to the issue.

More than 500 new cases are ­referred to the club each year, so it is clear newbuilding disputes are proving relatively expensive, at 4% of the total by number but more than four times this figure by cost.