Intermarine completes pontoon for RN carriers
Intermarine UK has completed the construction of a floating platform for the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
It has built a 24x12 metre pontoon that will be moored to the stern of either HMS Queen Elizabeth or HMS Prince of Wales when anchored in Portsmouth, UK, allowing crew and passengers to board and disembark at the rear of the ship.
Intermarine UK, part of Polish-owned Inter Marine Group, opened a 2,000sqm fabrication and welding facility at Portland Port on England’s south coast at the start of 2018, and over the past year has spent in excess of £500,000 equipping the site with machinery.
The pontoon was built in four sections over a period of two-and-a-half months. Each part was then bolted together to create a floating platform with a lightship displacement of 86 tonnes. The bolted I-section framework in the middle of the pontoon carries a soft patch deck area of approximately 16x6 metres.
Prior to establishing its production facility the company was tasked with aligning and joining up sections of the two carriers.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
Will the US Navy surge production for OTH-WS missile?
The USN is conducting a market search seeking additional sources capable of supplying 516 units of Over the Horizon – Weapons System Encanistered Missiles.
-
Maritime defence in the Mediterranean faces challenges from vulnerable land power
As an indispensable energy crossroads, the Mediterranean is at serious risk from grey zone disruption. As navies increasingly employ AI data centres, what happens when cutting-edge defence technologies rely on the very infrastructure most susceptible to hybrid tactics?
-
US Navy to conduct an experimentation campaign with emerging tech in 2026 and 2027
The Technology Operational Experimentation Events will inform future requirements as the US Navy looks for innovative solutions across three key operational domains.
-
Future Canadian Continental Defence Corvette will provide “Halifax-equivalent capabilities”
Although the CDC project is still in its early stages, the Canadian Department of National Defence already has some requirements for the future platforms.