The MoD has taken another step towards the procurement of a new fleet of naval tankers to support the Royal Navy on operations worldwide.
The MoD has taken another step towards the procurement of a new fleet of naval tankers to support the Royal Navy on operations worldwide.Baroness Taylor, Minister for Defence Equipment & Support, today provided Parliament with the details of the four companies who will work alongside the Department over the coming months to finalise the requirement for the new MARS (Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability) Fleet Tankers. The four companies are Fincantieri (Italy); Hyundai (Republic of Korea); Navantia (Spain) and BAE SYSTEMS with BMT DSL and DSME (Republic of Korea). Following the competition, MoD will make a final decision to select one of the companies to design and build the new ships. Baroness Taylor said: 'We have set a worldwide competition for the design and build of these new Fleet Tankers and have now selected four companies with whom we look forward to working to develop our plans further.' 'These four companies have demonstrated the capability and capacity to deliver in the timescales we need. We will be testing their proposals for Value for Money through the competition. 'The new Fleet Tankers being built as part of the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability programme will allow the full range of Royal Navy operations to continue around the globe.' MARS is a major project for Defence, providing future logistic support requirements for the Royal Navy and sea-based support to deployed forces. It will replace a large number of existing Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels. The existing Royal Feet Auxiliary tankers play a vital role in global naval operations by replenishing Royal Navy warships with ship and aircraft fuel, and wider armed forces with fuel and supplies. The new fleet tankers being built as part of the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability programme will comply with the highest international environmental standards, provide a much improved working environment for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel, and allow the full range of Royal Navy operations to continue around the globe for 25 years from their launch None of the four bidders have indicated to date that they would build Fleet Tankers in the UK. This reflects the fact that UK capacity is taken up by Type 45 and the Future Aircraft Carrier. Later elements of the MARS programme may provide opportunities for UK industry but no decisions have been made on how these later ships will be procured. |
