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BMT Wins Multi-million Pound UKAMS Contract

03-Jul-2001

British Maritime Technology (BMT) subsidiary BMT Marine Procurement Ltd announced today that it has been awarded an initial £12 million contract by UKAMS, to supply and operate the Sea Trials Platform for the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS).

Under the contract, BMT Marine Procurement will have to redesign and convert the government owned heavy lift ship, Longbow. A 12,000 tonne displacement, 108 metre long and 30 metre beam vessel, Longbow was last used in the late 1980s for test firings of vertically launched Seawolf missiles off the Aberporth range.

Work is scheduled to begin in early July and will be tackled in the following six stages:

  1. Design and study phase
  2. Take responsibility for the management and operation of Longbow in February 2002 for the duration of the project
  3. Repair, conversion and commissioning of Longbow
  4. Installation and commissioning of PAAMS equipment
  5. Operation of the vessel at the Aberporth Range
  6. Decommissioning, including removal of PAAMS equipment prior to return to the Government.
John Walker, BMT Marine Procurement’s managing director said: “We are very pleased to be associated with the development of PAAMS. This is a very exciting, high profile project and it will significantly enhance the work we have in the Bath office. It will be tremendously challenging and rewarding for everyone on the project team.”

This is the third contract relating to Longbow that BMT Marine Procurement has won over the last year. The first was to paint and preserve the upper works of the vessel for the MoD Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) and the second was to carry out an extensive survey of the vessel outside dry dock for UKAMS.


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