MoD buys £452m MARS tanker ships

 
Feb. 22, 2012
  
Four new 37,000-tonne naval tanker ships are to be purchased for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as part of the £452m Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) programme, it has been announced.

The ships, which are to be built by South Korean firm Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, will be manned by the RFA and provide fuel to Royal Navy warships and task groups.

 

[ Principle Particulars ] 

- Overall Length: 200.9m
- Length between perpendiculars: 185.1m
- Breadth(moulded): 28.6m
- Depth to main deck(moulded): 14.3m
- Draught: 10m
 
 
[ Key Features ] 
 
Cargo
Tank for Diesel Oil, Aviation Fuel and Fresh Water
Lub oil stored in drums
Stowage for up to 8x20 containers
 
Aviation
Flight deck for 1 medium helicopter
Maintenance hangar
In-flight refuelling capability
 
Replenishment
3 abeam RAS stations for Diesel Oil, Aviation Fuel and Fresh Water
Solid RAS reception up to 2te
Future Fit of 1 stem fuel delivery reel
VERTREP using organic helicopter
 
Accommodation
63 crew
46 non- crew embarked persons
 
 

The 200m long tankers will have the ability to operate helicopters and will replace the RFA's current single-hulled tankers when they come into service in 2016.

Daewoo was named as 'preferred bidder' for the £452m contract, which is based on a design by BMT Defence Services, after no British companies submitted a final bid for the build contract.

UK companies will still benefit from around £150m of associated spending, including £90m on the systems, design and support services, and around £60m on customisation, trials and specialist engineering support.

Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Peter Luff, said: "Over the next decade, the government will be investing billions of pounds in our maritime capabilities to ensure that our Royal Navy remains a formidable fighting force. This project will inject up to £150m into UK industry and support and maintenance will also be carried out in the UK. The government remains committed to building complex warships in UK shipyards."

Commodore Bill Walworth, head of the RFA, said: "We are delighted the RFA will be able to operate these world-class vessels. These fleet replenishment tankers will be flexible ships, able to operate with the Royal Navy and Armed Forces in conflict, and are designed to allow for upgrades and emerging technologies meaning that they have been designed with the future in mind."

Chief of Defence Materiel, Bernard Gray, said the bid offered the UK the best value for money.

"The MARS tanker is an exceptionally versatile platform; able to simultaneously refuel an aircraft carrier and destroyer whilst undertaking helicopter resupply of other vessels," said Gray. "I am looking forward to the award of the contract and the work that will follow in the lead up to the delivery of the ships."

Muir Macdonald, managing director of BMT Defence Services, said the selection of the company's AEGIR design for the ships would put Britain in "pole-position for championing our design and know-how around the world".

However, Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy said the deal was "bad news for British industry".

"First we lose out to France over fast jets and now we lose out to South Korea over Royal Navy tankers," said Murphy.

"The government do not have an active defence industrial strategy. I'd like to see more of our defence industry with a 'Made in Britain' stamp on it. The country will want the government to do more to support British industry."




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