, The Type 42 destroyer HMS Gloucester is to undergo improvements and essential maintenance under a contract agreed with Babcock Support Services Limited (BSSL) at Rosyth, the Ministry of Defence announced today.
The contract, managed by MOD's Defence Equipment and Support organisation and worth in the region of £6M, will see HMS Gloucester berth at Rosyth dockyard later this month until December 2007.
During this time, a number of major maintenance activities will be undertaken, including work on her aviation facilities, diesel engines and boilers. The docking period also provides an opportunity to improve HMS Gloucester's capabilities – for example, she will be fitted over the coming months with a new energy saving measure that is expected to dramatically reduce the ship's fuel consumption.
Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support, Lord Drayson, said today:
“This announcement today is further evidence of the good progress being made with the development of a potential framework for a future Surface Ship Support Alliance.
“The Surface Ship Support Alliance is an essential element of the Defence Industrial Strategy. A healthy partnership with industry in the maritime sector, as with all other areas of defence, is one of the key factors in ensuring we provide the best possible capability for the Armed Forces.”
Background Information
1. HMS Gloucester's upkeep is the first of 12 future work packages (known as the 'Gloucester 12') to be managed by the MOD and the three dockyard companies (BSSL, Devonport Management Limited (DML) and Fleet Support Limited (FSL)) as part of the developing Surface Ship Support Alliance. The contract follows similar ones arranged last year for five other Royal Navy vessels (the 'Liverpool 5').
2. Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) is the newly formed organisation that equips and supports the UK's armed forces for operations. Formed from the merger of the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) and the Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO), with headquarters in Bristol, it acquires and supports equipment and services ranging from ships, aircraft, vehicles and weapons, to electronic systems and information services.
3. HMS Gloucester, a 5,000 tonnes destroyer, entered service in 1985 as one of a batch of four larger and more capable variants of the Type 42 design. She completed her last refit in July 2003 and since then has served in operations throughout the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, and the Caribbean. This forthcoming docking will be HMS Gloucester's final upkeep period prior to her disposal.
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