Work underway on UK small boat services contract
Babcock has begun repair and maintenance work on the small boat services contract it was awarded by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in June. The contract, which came into effect in July, covers small boats used by the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, British Army and MoD Police.
The fleet includes over 800 inflatables, five dive boats, ten Mexeflotes (landing raft/pontoons), and Gibraltar region police and patrol boats. The three year contract will see Babcock perform repair and maintenance services, and undertake spares provisioning and post design services which could include modification work, and storage.
The company has already completed on the 14.2m Dive Boats, including boat servicing, engine maintenance and parts procurement, in Gibraltar.
Simon Knight, naval engineering director, Babcock, said: ‘By managing our established specialist small boat repair and maintenance supply chain we can give cross-boat support across varied boat types and regions, giving Babcock exceptional reach and ability to respond to requirements. We are delighted to have already made a good start, with the completion of work to date on-time and in-budget, and look forward to continuing to deliver successfully and support the MoD in line with requirements.’
Alistair Hughes, MoD Boats Team Leader, added: ‘The award of these contracts follows 18 months of intensive activity between the team and industry and we have established good working relationships with Babcock and our other suppliers to ensure we maintain this critical component of our armed forces.’
Babcock was one of a number of companies to be awarded the work by the MoD Commercially Supported Shipping (CSS) team.
More from Naval Warfare
-
US Navy takes delivery of New Jersey SSN
The USN’s Virginia-class SSNs are replacing the old Los Angeles-class SSNs. The Virginia-class SSNs are fitted with the latest sensors and weapons and around 48 submarines are planned, with a total of 38 currently ordered.
-
BMT and DNV partner to meet Australia’s heavy landing craft requirement
Under Project Land 8710 Phase 2, Australia has been seeking to acquire an undisclosed number of Littoral Manoeuvre Vessels to replace the Balikpapan-class. The programme has an estimated value of AU$1.4 billion (US$910 million), with IOC slated for 2032.
-
Austal completes autonomy trials with former Royal Australian Navy patrol boat
The work took place under the Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT), which has been a collaboration between Austal, Greenroom Robotics, the Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre and the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Warfare Innovation Navy Branch.
-
Singapore launches fourth and final Type 218SG submarine
The era of southeast Asian submarine modernisation has been in full swing fuelled by growing tensions in the South China Sea.