RFA Fort Victoria completes maintenance survey
Cammell Laird has completed a maintenance check on Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessel Fort Victoria at its dry dock facility in Birkenhead.
The 30-year special survey involved inspections and maintenance of the vessel’s engines, propulsion systems, steering equipment and side valves. A new hangar crane was fitted along with an upgraded remote-control ballast valve operation.
John Kennedy, Ministry of Defence programme director at Cammell Laird, said: ‘Managing the available space on board RFA Fort Victoria was a particularly challenging aspect of this refit as we were turning an already congested space into a major workplace willed with heavy lifting equipment, specialised tooling and skilled tradespeople. As a result, we needed to move a large number of ancillary items to a safe stowage area before work could commence.’
The contract which allowed Cammell Laird to carry out the work was awarded in January 2018 and includes two 10-year through life support programmes.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![US weighs offshore warship production due to industrial limits]()
US weighs offshore warship production due to industrial limits
A Pentagon push to procure warships from Japanese and South Korean shipyards could reshape allied naval industrial strategy, but critics warn the approach risks hollowing out the domestic base Washington is seeking to restore.
-
![Lessons shaping the next phase of Arleigh Burke production post-Flight IIA]()
Lessons shaping the next phase of Arleigh Burke production post-Flight IIA
The accelerated delivery of the final Flight IIA destroyer, USS Patrick Gallagher, showcases the payoff of years of workforce investment and process reform at Bath Iron Works, with the lessons feeding into Flight III production.
-
![Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development]()
Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development
Ukraine’s battlefield has rewritten the rules of uncrewed systems development. For Syos Aerospace, real-time operator feedback, lean serial production and a system-of-systems philosophy are central to its operating model.
-
![Sealift shortfalls set to drive opportunities across NATO navies]()
Sealift shortfalls set to drive opportunities across NATO navies
A new Council on Geostrategy primer warns that NATO cannot defend its own supply lines. As the alliance faces a sealift and logistics escort deficit, a wave of unawarded procurement is beginning to take shape.
