Ministry of Defence
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MoD places £250 million contracts for support of navy supply ships
The MoD has today placed contracts valued at around £250 million with companies owning shipyards in the north west, north east and south west of England for the long-term maintenance of a fleet of navy support ships.
Defence Minister Baroness Taylor today announced Northwestern Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders (NSL) of Birkenhead and the A&P Group in Falmouth and Newcastle on Tyne as contractors to maintain the flotilla of tankers, stores ships and landing ships that supply the Royal Navy at sea. The contractors will maintain 'clusters' of ships, providing the necessary refuelling and refit work for the flotilla of 16 Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels throughout their service lives. Ships are grouped in clusters according to their duties and capabilities.
NSL is contracted for the maintenance of four clusters of ships (11 ships in total), with contracts totalling over £180M, while A&P Group are charged with two clusters (five ships) in a contract worth around £53M with the work to be shared between its bases in Falmouth and on the Tyne.
Baroness Taylor, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, said: "The RFA is crucial to the work of the Royal Navy - without them it simply could not operate. This is a significant change to the way in which the RFA ships are supported which will not only generate substantial savings for the public purse but will increase the ships' availability and effectiveness to the fleet they serve."
As well as improving fleet support, in the longer term the new programme is expected to save over £330M on the previous arrangements which saw individual contracts competed as and when they were required.
Commodore David Preston, MoD Defence Equipment and Support Director of Afloat Support added: "This new strategy will also see the MOD working more closely with the chosen contractors over the longer term, granting them a greater understanding of our requirements and improving the support RFA ships receive. This should also afford them the ability to forecast their work load further into the future, which is valuable added security for industry and demonstrates how we work with industry to support the Armed Forces."
RFA Gold Rover will be the first to undergo works under the new programme, which will be carried out by Northwestern Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders Limited.
Notes:
1. Contracts to provide specialist equipment for the upkeep work of the RFAs have also been awarded to Lloyds Register, Bristol, for classification services to ensure each ship meets maintenance standards, Hempel Limited, Cwmbran, for the supply of paint, and Trimline Limited, Southampton to provide furnishings. Another contract, for provision of specialist engineering services, is expected to be let later this year.
2. Composition of Ship Clusters
Cluster Ship Name Contractor Number
1 RFA Argus A&P Falmouth (This
contract was placed in
December 2005 as a pilot
for the Through Life
Support strategy)
2 RFA Cardigan BayRFA Largs BayRFA A&P Group
Lyme BayRFA Mounts Bay
3 RFA BayleafRFA OrangeleafRFA Northwestern
Black RoverRFA Gold Rover Shipbuilders and
Shiprepairers Limited
4 RFA DiligenceRFA Wave KnightRFA Northwestern
Wave Ruler Shipbuilders and
Shiprepairers Limited
5 RFA Fort AustinRFA Fort Rosalie Northwestern
Shipbuilders and
Shiprepairers Limited
6 RFA Fort GeorgeRFA Fort Victoria Northwestern
Shipbuilders and
Shiprepairers Limited
3. Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) equips and supports the UK's armed forces for current and future operations. It acquires and supports through-life, including disposal, equipment and services ranging from ships, aircraft, vehicles and weapons, to electronic systems and information services.
4. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) supplies fuel, munitions, food and other vital ship's stores to the Royal Naval fleet while on operations at sea. There are 16 vessels from Replenishment Tankers to unique platforms providing specialist capabilities such as Aircraft Training and Primary Casualty Reception (HMS ARGUS), Forward Repair Station (HMS Diligence) and the recently launched Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) Bay Class (HM Ships Largs Bay, Lyme Bay, Mounts Bay and Cardigan Bay). There are around 2300 serving RFA personnel.
5. Northwestern Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders Limited employs over 210 staff and is currently involved in maintenance work on RFA Wave Ruler. Over the past year, the company has successfully delivered similar work packages for RFA Diligence, RFA Orangeleaf, RFA Wave Knight and RFA Fort George.
6. The A&P Group employs over 1000 staff across the UK and is under contract for the Through Life Support of RFA Argus (pilot contract). Over the past year, A&P has completed major work packages for RFA Black Rover and RFA Fort Austin.
