MARS Bidders Selected

The MOD’s Afloat Support Directorate has announced the shortlist of bidders which will be invited to submit tenders to supply MARS Tankers. The bidders are: A&P Group Ltd (UK), DSME (Korea), Fincantieri (Italy), Flensburger Schiffbsau-Gesellschaft mbH (Germany), Hyundai Heavy Industries (Korea) and Knutsen OAS (UK) Ltd (Norway/UK).It is expected that outline tenders will be submitted during May this year, and with ongoing dialogue these will be followed by detailed solutions and final bids, with a final decision announced by early 2012.

Defence MP Delivers the Kindest Cut....

 

Quentin Davies MP, the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, has officially launched the build of the largest section of HMS Queen Elizabeth, the first of the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers, at MDC member A&P Tyne.The minister cut the first piece of steel at the South Tyneside yard, which will create one of the upper blocks weighing around 3,000 tonnes. The £55m contract will safeguard more than 200 jobs at the Hebburn facility for the next four years.The Minister was joined by Rear Admiral Bob Love and Tony Graham of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance team, A&P Tyne Managing Director Stewart Boak and Captain John Clink, Commanding Officer of HMS Ark Royal, which was visiting the Tyne at the same time.

....While MDC Members Get Royal Treatment

Meanwhile, other MDC members were able to take advantage of HMS Ark Royal’s presence after being invited on an ‘engineering’ tour of the ship.

Copyright: Crown/MOD

The MDC group was given a special tour of the ship control facilities and main machinery spaces. Thanks to the ship's officers and crew for their hospitality!  

Type 26, Astute & Babcock TOBA 

Three further key agreements have also been announced by the MOD in the last month.

A team led by BAE Systems Surface Ships, working with the MOD, will consider design proposals for the Type 26 combat ship, named in recognition of its planned multiple roles. The Type 26 will replace the Type 22 and 23 frigates, which are to begin leaving service at the end of the decade. The ship will provide support for land operations as well as undertaking other key tasks such as anti-submarine warfare. Shown here is a CGI of the Type 26 combat ship concept.

Source: BAE Systems 2010

The MOD is also proceeding with further work on the Astute submarine programme, giving the go-ahead for the initial build work for Boat 5, as well as procurement activities to ensure key items for Boat 6 are available when needed..Finally, the MOD has agreed a long term partnering agreement with Babcock Marine covering surface ship and submarine support activities. The 15-year Terms of Business Agreement (TOBA) guarantees Babcock's status as Britain's preferred supplier for engineering and services for warships and submarines from 2010 – 2025.

UK Marine Industries Strategic Framework – Call to Action

A new framework for the UK’s Marine Industries has been published by the Marine Industries Leadership Council (MILC), setting out a vision for 2020 for the sector to exploit growth opportunities, strengthen its international reputation and maintain its competitive position globally. The report calls on all the industries’ stakeholders to engage with the initiative, get involved with strategy development and help to implement actions.For more information on the Strategic Framework, the MILC, or how to get involved, please click here.

Member News...

Alnmaritec Supplies First Boat to China

Alnmaritec Limited, one of the UK's leading specialist boat builders, announced recently that it had supplied its first ever boat for operations in China.

 

The ‘SHI HUA GANG YI HAO’, pictured, was delivered to Dalian in Eastern China where she will operate for Petrochina providing pollution response capabilities and carrying out patrol duties on the refinery.Chris Millman, Alnmaritec Managing Director, said, ‘We are absolutely delighted to have one of our boats operating in China and especially for such a prestigious company. We hope that this will provide a springboard for us into the Chinese market’.

Oxley wins Australian Navy Contract

 

Congratulations to Oxley Developments, recently awarded a contract by the Australian Navy to supply LED lighting for its Collins Class Submarine.

The Cumbrian based company said the £270,000 deal will help to boost its expansion strategy, providing lighting systems in the marine environment.Andy Bednarek, Sales and Marketing Director at Oxley Developments, said: “We have already won contracts for surface vessels but this is our first major submarine project.“We are very excited by the challenge and look forward to delivering a reliable and cost effective system for the Royal Australian Navy.”

GL Noble Denton To Hire 700 Technical Experts

 

GL Noble Denton has said it is set to hire more than 700 new technical personnel, engineers and marine operations specialists.The company is the newly rebranded technical service provider for the oil and gas industry with a comprehensive service portfolio combining former marine and offshore consultancy Noble Denton with GL’s oil and gas division.As an independent advisor, GL Noble Denton is a full-service provider with broad upstream, midstream and downstream competence for the complete asset lifecycle.John Wishart, President of GL Noble Denton, said: “With rising oil prices we expect a high demand for consultancy and assurance within the oil and gas industry. It is obvious that the backing of investments will come to an end sooner rather than later. We want to be ready in time.”

Houlder to Present at Marine and Offshore Renewable Energy Conference

 

MDC member Houlder is delighted to announce that it will be presenting two papers at the Royal Institution of Naval Architecture Marine and Renewable Energy conference this month.

 

The conference (21-23 April) brings together Renewable Energy stakeholders to provide a forum for discussion and a means of professional development for those involved with using natural marine resources to generate energy.Houlder’s two papers both reflect the need for cost effective engineering and design solutions as wind farms move further offshore and into deeper water.For more information on the conference, click here.

Clipper Windpower Announces Offshore Wind Blade Factory…

 

Clipper Windpower Marine Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of Clipper Windpower, Inc. has announced that the Renewable Energy Park on the River Tyne will be the location for its offshore wind turbine blade manufacturing facility.The ground breaking announcement was made by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband and Minister for the North East, Nick Brown.The factory will be used to develop and build blades for the ‘Britannia Project,’ a 10MW offshore, wind turbine prototype under development by Clipper. The prototype is scheduled for development in late 2012, and is among the largest wind turbines under development in the wind industry. The blades will be 72 metres long and weigh over 30 tonnes.

…While Mitsubishi Explore Wind Centre on Tyneside

Mitsubishi has announced that it is to establish a £100m wind turbine research centre. Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government to invest the cash in research and development into green energy.Lord Mandelson said the firm was looking at a number of sites in the North East as potential bases for the centre, which could create some 1,500 jobs.

NaREC Continues Lead in Offshore Wind

 

Last month saw two major developments at NaREC, in Blyth, Northumberland.The Department of Business, Innovation and skills (BIS) announced an £18.5 million grant to fund an offshore wind test site at NaREC.Andrew Mills, CEO at NaREC, said, “We very much welcome this funding award and the continued support we have received from Central Government and Regional Development Agency, One North East, which is creating a national hub in North East England for the development of offshore wind technologies.“The announcement will enable NaREC to progress with our plans to deliver a 100MW grid connected to offshore demonstration platform, with the capacity to accommodate up to 20 large scale prototypes.”

In a further development, David Kidney MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, and Helen Goodman MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department of Work and Pensions, attended an event at Narec to officially open a new 27 metre high training facility – the UK’s first Wind Turbine Training Tower.

 

The Training Tower is an open access facility, designed to allow education and training providers to deliver academic and industrial training programmes for technicians working in the wind industry and at height, both onshore and offshore.

Marine & Energy Skills Development: A Taste of Things to Come

Thanks to partnerships with Foundation Degree Forward, Teesside University and One North East the MDC Marine & Energy skills development programme continues to gather pace.Three taster days to introduce the Foundation Degree in Marine & Energy Design Engineering are planned with the first on 18th May at Teesside University, and others to follow in Newcastle and Derwentside (date tbc).A number of short course modules are also planned to take place between April and July including Project Management, Health & Safety, Solidworks Essentials and Laser Scanning.For more information about the taster days and short courses please contact John Lockey by email ( john.lockey@marinedesigncentre.com ) or by phone on 0191 2551710.

Business Opportunities

A sample from the MDC contracts system...

Denmark: Defence Acquisition & Logistics Organisation

Helicopter Approach and Surveillance Radar System for Maritime Use

Italy: Ministry of Interior

8 no. RIBs for fire rescue services

France: Ministry of Culture

Construction of 36m GRP vessel for research organisation

To find out more about these opportunities or the MDC system please contact Simon Ellis on 0191 255 1710 or simon.ellis@marinedesigncentre.com

Dates for the Diary

Some events which may be of particular interest...

New Technology for Design

16 April 2010, Woodhorn, Northumberland. For more information click here.

Oil, Gas & Subsea Market Visit to Norway

Trondheim, Hammerfest and Bergen; 19th - 23rd April 2010. For further details contact JGray@nofenergy.co.uk

Marine & Offshore Renewable Energy: Developments in Wind, Wave, Tidal & Current Technology

21-23 April 2010, RINA HQ, London. For further details click here.

AVEVA Marine: Reference Group Meeting

29 April 2010, HMS Belfast, London.A look at naval defence requirements in Asia Pacific, integrated full electrical propulsion in warships and AVEVA Marine lifecycle extension capabilities. For further details email Matt.Wren@Aveva.com

Ministry of Defence: Open for Innovation

29 April 2010, with Centre for Defence Enterprise, Edinburgh. For further details click here.

Nuclear Networking Lunch with Sellafield Ltd

18 May 2010, Hallgarth Hotel, Darlington. For further details click here.

15th International Congress on Marine Corrosion and Fouling

25th - 29th July 2010, Sage Gateshead. For further details click here.