Shipyard
Navantia UK opened its Appledore shipyard to employees’ families and friends for a behind-the-scenes open day that included yard tours, a history talk and a virtual welding experience. The event came days after the keel laying of RFA Resurgent, the first of three Fleet Solid Support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, as the yard continues a £15 million investment programme within a wider £157 million spend across four UK sites.
Navantia UK has laid the keel of RFA Resurgent at its Appledore shipyard in North Devon, formally starting assembly of the first of three Fleet Solid Support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The milestone came with the lowering of the first block in Appledore’s dry dock and the placement of a commemorative coin beneath the section for good fortune.
Navantia UK has delivered the 85-metre, 1,400-tonne transport barge Seahorse from its Methil yard. The vessel was delivered on budget and in eight months, and has now arrived at Appledore in North Devon to support build work on three Fleet Solid Support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Alexander Marine Design of Fife provided naval architecture and design support.
Rear Admiral Matthew Stratton visited Navantia UK’s Appledore yard in North Devon last week for an update on the Fleet Solid Support programme, the yard’s modernisation and the LASV75 concept. Appledore is building the bow sections of three Royal Fleet Auxiliary supply ships, with final assembly, systems integration and testing due in Belfast.