On Merseyside, the shipyard of Cammell Laird has achieved its latest milestone in the UK Royal Navy Type 26 frigate programme build, reports Liverpool Business News.
Workers and apprentices at the yard located in Birkenhead, Wirral Peninsula, have successfully completed the fabrication of key structural components for Type 26 /City class frigates HMS Belfast (ship no. 3), as Afloat previously reported, and HMS Birmingham (no.4).
The naval newbuilds are being delivered in partnership with BAE Systems, as the Type 26 programme will provide the British Royal Navy with the most advanced anti-submarine warfare capability available.
Cammell Laird, as part of the APCL Group, was chosen by BAE to construct units for the City Class ships at Birkenhead before being barged to BAE Systems Govan Shipyard on the Clyde downriver of Glasgow.
The mega-consolidated double-bottom block of HMS Birmingham, a crucial part of the ship, has been completed by Cammell Laird, weighing approximately 1,000 tonnes. This modular block took 21 months to build at the Birkenhead's facility building hall before being loaded out by barge from the wet basin to the Scottish shipyard, where it will be integrated into the ship’s larger structure.
Alongside the mega block, HMS Belfast had had its upper units also completed. This includes two double-stacked units and four single units. These components have also been transported from the Mersey using a coaster to the Scottish southwest city for further assembly.
More here on the developing progress of the Type 26’s.
