VT Group, Production has started at VT Shipbuilding on a new 80meter Offshore Patrol Vessel (Helicopter) for the Royal Navy that will be used as the patrol ship for the Falkland Islands.
The River Class Batch 2 is an enhanced version of three similar ships already in service with the RN, principally carrying out fishery protection work. One of the ships, HMS Severn, is among the floating exhibits at DSEI 2005.
The latest ship in the Class will be enhanced with a helicopter deck capable of accepting helicopters up to the size of the new Merlin aircraft, increased accommodation to cater for an embarked force, a bigger gun, higher levels of survivability and surveillance radar.
Like the three earlier River Class vessels, she will be funded by VT and chartered to the Ministry of Defence for an initial period of five years. At the end of that period, the agreement can either be extended, the ship purchased outright or returned to VT.
The River Class arrangement calls for VT to provide a full Contractor Logistic Support (CLS) operation embracing a round-the-clock, global maintenance commitment including repairs and spares. Payment of charter fees is based on the initial River Class ships being available for sea some 320 days a year and the customer has expressed his full satisfaction with VT
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