Defence Estates (DE) is overseeing a programme of major refurbishment to the explosives handling jetty (EHJ) at the Royal Navy’s Strategic Weapon Facility (SWF) in Coulport, Scotland.
The jetty is designed to allow loading and unloading of tactical and strategic weapons to the Vanguard class Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear (SSBN) submarines. The EHJ Continuous Availability Project (CAP) is designed to refresh the current facilities whilst keeping the jetty operational – in support of the Trident nuclear programme.
DE’s Regional Prime Contractor for Scotland (RPC(S)), Turner Estate Solutions, is carrying out the refurbishment work, which is expected to take approximately three years. Major aspects of the project to be addressed over the coming months include repairing the roof to make it wind and watertight and an inspection of the access bridge bearings to see if they need replacing.
The 125 and 35 tonne cranes inside the jetty will be overhauled and installed with new control systems. Only one crane will be worked on at any one time, to ensure that the facility remains available to support the Fleet as necessary.
“The success of the project will be judged not only on the normal criteria of delivering a quality product within a fixed budget to a immovable completion date, but also against an absolute minimum impact on a very busy Fleet programme.”
John McGuigan, DE Team Leader
A contractor compound has been set up immediately behind the canteen at SWF Coulport to accommodate contractor personnel managing the works. It includes a brand new building with meeting rooms and a large open plan office which will be retained by SWF Coulport once the project is completed.
John McGuigan, DE Team Leader said:
“The facility was originally intended to have a major refit, which would have meant taking it out of service completely for up to 18 months. The unique nature of the facility and the increasing demands of the Trident programme meant that this was not an option.
“On the face of it the EHJ CAP is simply a large maintenance, refurbishment project. However, the combined constraints imposed on us by the Nuclear Approvals Process, maintaining a level of availability to Fleet at all times and complying with customer funding and the RPC(S) process make this a big challenge.
“The success of the project will be judged not only on the normal criteria of delivering a quality product within a fixed budget to a immovable completion date, but also against an absolute minimum impact on a very busy Fleet programme.
“Proactive engagement with stakeholders has been – and will continue to be – pivotal to project success. We are most encouraged by the close working relationships developed so far with which have resulted in a significant reduction in unnecessary red tape thereby minimising the risk of delay to delivery.”
Morag Cook, the Customer Requirement Manager for Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) said:
“This is a major project for the Base and a first in many respects. It is the first time we have undertaken a major refurbishment of a nuclear facility and the first time this will have been done whilst keeping the facility ready for operations. The facility operator and his team are bracing themselves for the increased workload and challenges that the project will bring.”
