The MoD has today placed contracts valued at around £250 million with companies owning shipyards in the north west, north east and south west of England for the long-term maintenance of a fleet of navy support ships.
Defence Minister Baroness Taylor today announced Northwestern Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders (NSL) of Birkenhead and the A&P Group in Falmouth and Newcastle on Tyne as contractors to maintain the flotilla of tankers, stores ships and landing ships that supply the Royal Navy at sea. The contractors will maintain 'clusters' of ships, providing the necessary refuelling and refit work for the flotilla of 16 Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels throughout their service lives. Ships are grouped in clusters according to their duties and capabilities.NSL is contracted for the maintenance of four clusters of ships (11 ships in total), with contracts totalling over £180M, while A&P Group are charged with two clusters (five ships) in a contract worth around £53M with the work to be shared between its bases in Falmouth and on the Tyne. Baroness Taylor, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, said: 'The RFA is crucial to the work of the Royal Navy - without them it simply could not operate. This is a significant change to the way in which the RFA ships are supported which will not only generate substantial savings for the public purse but will increase the ships' availability and effectiveness to the fleet they serve.' As well as improving fleet support, in the longer term the new programme is expected to save over £330M on the previous arrangements which saw individual contracts competed as and when they were required. Commodore David Preston, MoD Defence Equipment and Support Director of Afloat Support added: 'This new strategy will also see the MOD working more closely with the chosen contractors over the longer term, granting them a greater understanding of our requirements and improving the support RFA ships receive. This should also afford them the ability to forecast their work load further into the future, which is valuable added security for industry and demonstrates how we work with industry to support the Armed Forces.' RFA Gold Rover will be the first to undergo works under the new programme, which will be carried out by Northwestern Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders Limited. |
