A new transport barge, built by Navanita UK's one of two facilities in Scotland, will carry shipyard-built blocks between Appledore, England, and Belfast, supporting the delivery of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships, writes Jehan Ashmore.
The barge NUK Seahorse was built at Methil, on the Firth of Fife, east Scotland, and was developed with specialist support from Alexander Marine Design. The local Fife-based small and medium enterprise (SME) at Newport-on-Tay is where the consultancy is led by naval architect Andrew Alexander. Afloat adds that the consultancy also has an office at Whiteabbey, on the shores of Belfast Lough.
The concept design and a package of basic design drawings for the barge were contracted to AMS and were then submitted for approval by Bureau Veritas and thereafter used to guide the construction of the barge.
Such a project was a full-circle moment for Alexander, having spent four years earlier in his career in Belfast at Harland & Wolff and now helping with the design of the barge to transport ship blocks between the shipyards. This will support the final assembly of the module units as part of the FSS ships programme to deliver a trio of the 32,000 tonnes replenishment and support vessels for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) (see predecessor final ‘Tide’ class, called to Cork Harbour) which are to serve the UK’s Royal Navy global operations.
The 1,400-tonne newbuild barge was delivered on budget and in just eight months from the first steel cut to the christening of the Seahorse, with a length of 85 m and a breadth of 25.2 m.
Andrew Alexander, owner and naval architect at Alexander Marine Design, said, "Seahorse is a fantastic example of what can be achieved when a shipyard works closely with experienced local designers and gives them the opportunity to contribute to a major national programme."
NUK Seahorse, in May, arrived at Navantia UK’s Appledore shipyard, in North Devon, to begin supporting its involvement in the construction of new ships for the RFA.
Irish Naval Service
The same yard under different ownerships, on the banks of the Torridge, outside Bideford, built six ships for the Irish Defence Forces branch of the Naval Service. This involved the twin OPV80 P50 class (Appledore Shipbuilders), otherwise known as the ‘Roisin’ class, along with successors comprising four OPV P60 class (Babcock Marine), also referred to as either the ‘Beckett’ or ‘Playwrights’ series.
The final P60 class delivered was the LÉ George Bernard Shaw (P64), which arrived in Cork Harbour in 2018, which then completed the Naval Service ship replacement programme of four new OPV90/P60 class vessels since 2014.
