Cammell Laird starts work on £47m refit
THE Cammell Laird shipyard has started work on a £47m refit of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Fort Victoria.
The business, based at Birkenhead Docks, said it was the biggest job it had undertaken since signing a 25-year contract to maintain nine Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships in 2008.
The RFA is a civilian-manned fleet, owned by the Ministry of Defence, which supports the Royal Navy, supplying warships with fuel, ammunition and supplies.
The Fort Victoria, one of the RFA’s biggest ships, has just completed three years of active service which has involved anti-piracy missions off the Somali coast.
The refit, which will take a year to complete, will include repairs to the engine and the main propulsion systems, the installation of two ballast water treatment plants, and the overhaul of the weapons systems.
Cammell Laird’s chief executive John Syvret said: “This is a very big moment in the history of the cluster contract to begin a refit of this size, complexity and magnitude.”
Phillip Dunne, minister for defence equipment, support and technology, said: “This £47m contract is a boost for Merseyside and I am delighted that this vital refit will provide ongoing work for 200 highly skilled workers at the shipyard in Birkenhead.”
The Fort Victoria was ordered from Harland and Wolff in 1986, and was launched in 1990 and is designated as an Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment (AOR) ship.
