Navy

MOD confirms £320m contracts to service Royal Navy offshore patrol vessels

Two contracts to service the Royal Navy's domestic and international offshore patrol vessel fleets will cost £320m, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has announced.

Tasks undertaken by the fleet include homeland defence, global counter-terrorism, anti-smuggling, maritime defence, humanitarian support operations and engagement with UK's Overseas Territories, allies and global partners.

They are designed to be available for operational tasking for more than 300 days per year, the MOD said.

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An eight-year contract worth about £250m has been awarded to UK Docks Marine Services, based in the northeast of England, to support HMS Forth, HMS Medway, HMS Trent, HMS Tamar and HMS Spey.

The deal will create more than 100 engineer, technician, project manager and administrative roles within the company, with 25 to 30 based in South Shields, South Tyneside, and Gosport, Hampshire – while the remaining roles will be located overseas.

River Class patrol vessels of the Fishery Protection Squadron, HMS Severn, HMS Tyne and HMS Mersey pictured off the coast of Cornwall 160212 CREDIT MOD._0 — River Class patrol vessels HMS Severn, HMS Tyne and HMS Mersey pictured off the coast of Cornwall (Picture: MOD).

A second contract for vessels patrolling UK waters has gone to BAE Systems in Portsmouth, with the deal worth £70m over five years and set to sustain more than a dozen jobs.

The agreement to service the three River-class offshore patrol vessels — HMS Mersey, HMS Severn and HMS Tyne — will last until the ships' retirement from Navy service in 2028.

HMS Severn was one of the boats deployed to patrol the English Channel after a post-Brexit row broke out in 2021 between Britain and France about fishing rights around the coast of Jersey.

HMS Mersey has in recent years been used to monitor Russian submarines making their way through British waters.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: "Working closely with our industry partners, we are securing a future for these versatile and important Royal Navy ships, delivering on our promises for UK prosperity and sustained UK presence overseas.

"The project will also ensure dozens of UK jobs are supported, contributing to the vibrant health of our shipbuilding industry."