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.