MoD confirms £320m contracts to service Royal Navy offshore patrol vessels
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wo contracts to service the Royal Navy’s home and worldwide offshore patrol vessel fleets will price £320 million, the Ministry of Defence has introduced.
An eight-year contract value about £250 million has been awarded to UK Docks Marine Services, primarily based within the north east of England, to assist a fleet that patrols throughout the globe.
The deal will create greater than 100 engineer, technician, venture supervisor and administrative roles inside the firm, with 25-30 primarily based in South Shields, South Tyneside, and Gosport, Hampshire – whereas the remaining roles might be situated abroad.
The crew will service HMS Forth, HMS Medway, HMS Trent, HMS Tamar and HMS Spey.
We are securing a future for these versatile and vital Royal Navy ships, delivering on our guarantees for sustained UK presence abroad
A second contract for vessels patrolling UK waters has gone to BAE Systems in Portsmouth, with the deal value £70 million over 5 years and set to maintain greater than a dozen jobs.
The settlement to service three vessels — HMS Mersey, HMS Severn and HMS Tyne — will final till the ships’ retirement from navy service in 2028.
HMS Severn was one of many boats deployed to patrol the English Channel after a post-Brexit row broke out in 2021 between Britain and France about fishing rights across the coast of Jersey.
HMS Mersey has lately been used to watch Russian submarines making their method by way of British waters.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace mentioned: “Working closely with our industry partners, we are securing a future for these versatile and important Royal Navy ships, delivering on our promises for UK prosperity and sustained UK presence overseas.
“The project will also ensure dozens of UK jobs are supported, contributing to the vibrant health of our shipbuilding industry.”
Tasks undertaken by the fleet embrace homeland defence, international counter-terrorism, anti-smuggling, maritime defence, humanitarian assist operations and engagement with UK’s Overseas Territories, allies and international companions.
They are designed to be accessible for operational tasking for greater than 300 days per yr, the MoD mentioned.
The second batch, to be serviced by UK Docks Marine Service, are 90 metre-long vessels, just like the size of two Olympic swimming swimming pools, and are outfitted with a 30mm cannon and flight deck able to accommodating a Merlin helicopter.
With a spread of greater than 5,500 nautical miles and a high pace of greater than 20 knots, they’re completely deployed worldwide with patrols within the South Atlantic, North Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific area.
The majority of the assist work for the ships might be carried out at websites the world over, with UK Docks — who already helps HMS Protector, the Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol Ship — offering international engineering, technical and logistics assist to safe spares, repairs and upkeep providers.
The first batch, constructed by VT Shipbuilding — and now a part of BAE Systems — are designed for top availability, with the 80 metre vessels frequently deployed off the UK coast.