30 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News
FSL Docks Frigate
Fleet Support Limited (FSL) started
work on the latest Royal Navy Type 23
frigate to enter its facilities for mainte-
nance. The docking of the Plymouth-
based HMS Portland is a five-month pro-
gram to upgrade the 1999-built ship. The
enhancement package includes a com-
plete upgrade of the ship's aviation facili-
ties that will enable her to operate the
Merlin helicopter, and the fitting of the
Surface Ship Torpedo Defense suite,
improving its employability around the
world. This is coupled with extensive
refurbishment work of both hull and liv-
ing accommodation. FSL Engineering
Director Mal Lewis said, "HMS Portland
will be another opportunity for us to
demonstrate our growing expertise in
work on Type 23 frigates and to develop
our aspirations towards becoming a cen-
tre of excellence for this class of ship."
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Shipbuilding Technology
VT Loads Out Destroyer Bow Section
The bow section of the second Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer,
HMS Dauntless, was loaded out from VT Shipbuilding's facility in
Portsmouth Naval Base for transport to Scotland.
The 1,000-ton steel section sailed from Portsmouth on a four-day
voyage via the English Channel and Irish Sea to the Govan yard on
Clydeside of Type 45 program prime contractor BAE Systems
Naval Ships.
HMS Dauntless' bow was carefully wheeled out on powerful trac-
tor conveyor units and transported some 100 yards to the barge VT
Woolston moored adjacent to the main VT shipbuilding hall in a
three-hour operation. The structure is 164 ft. (50 m) long and 46 ft.
(14 m) high, and has taken nearly 20 months to build. "The lessons
learned on ship 01 mean that we have significantly reduced the
number of man hours required to build the section for ship 02," said
VT Type 45 Project Director John Richardson. "The level of outfit
has also been considerably higher as a result of the design evolving
and maturing."
The bow section of HMS Dauntless is loaded out from the VT
Shipbuilding Assembly Hall in Portsmouth.
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