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Vt Group News

07 Jun 2021

Concordia Damen Launches First of 40 New Barges

(Photo: Damen)

The first of 40 inland waterway barges that are being built by Concordia Damen has been launched at the casco yard in Serbia. Concordia Damen signed the contract for the environmentally friendly vessels late last year.The vessels, known as the Parsifal Tankers, will be chartered by Shell and operated by the VT Group/Marlow. They will carry mineral oils between Antwerp, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Rhine network.The vessels will be 110 meters by 11.45 meters and will feature liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion and extreme shallow draft capabilities.

06 Nov 2020

Concordia Damen Bags Order for 40 Dual-fuel Tank Barges

(Image: Damen)

Dutch shipbuilder Concordia Damen said Friday it has signed a contract for 40 eco-friendly dual-fuel barges with institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. The barges will be chartered by Shell and operated by the VT Group/Marlow. Frachtcontor Capital Partners was the broker for the deal.The 110- by 11.5-meters vessels will have liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion and extreme shallow draft capabilities – 2,800 ton on 3.25 meter draft – to maximize cargo carrying capacity on Dutch…

15 Dec 2019

STS Loading Caustic Soda in Rotterdam

The new International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulations aim to significantly reduce emissions of sulfur oxides, which are responsible for atmospheric acidification. This means that vessels may only use fuels with sulfur levels of up to 0.5 percent as of 1 January 2020.The current permitted level is 3.5 percent. However, another option is available. Shipping companies may continue to use heavy fuel oil if they install ‘scrubbers’ on their vessels to purify the exhaust gases with a wash treatment of water and soda."As the world’s largest bunker port, Rotterdam is well prepared for the new situation," claims the port authority.Rotterdam does not only offer low sulfur fuel…

20 Aug 2019

VT Group Awarded U.S. Navy Contract

VT Group, a premier middle-market technology integrator and C4ISR solutions provider, has been named by Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) as one of six award winners for an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract. VT Group will compete for work in the areas of Afloat installation and integrated Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems aboard the Navy’s growing Fleet of surface ships and submarines. The contract vehicle has a ceiling value of $2.45 billion over a five-year base period and one five-year option period.VT Group has a 50-year history providing the U.S.

21 Feb 2019

LNG Bunkering Takes Off in Rotterdam

The throughput of LNG - liquefied natural gas - as bunker fuel in the Rotterdam bunker port increased considerably from 1,500 to 9,500 tonnes in 2018.Meanwhile, the sale of bunker oil - fuel for shipping - in the bunker port decreased from 9.9 million m3 to 9.5 million m3. The decrease can almost entirely be ascribed to the decline in sales of heavy fuel oil from 8.3 million m3 to 7.9 million m3.The Port of Rotterdam Authority suspects that the decline in bunker volumes in Europe’s largest bunker port is a consequence of the increased scale and use of modern vessels in container shipping. Supplies to container ships account for approximately 70 per cent of the total Rotterdam bunker market.These days, LNG bunkering in Rotterdam is business as usual.

03 Oct 2017

Designing the New National Security Multi-Mission Vessel

(Image: Herbert Engineering / MARAD)

For more than 100 years the U.S. has depended on State Maritime Academies (SMA) to produce USCG licensed merchant officers. The SMA’s have also been an important source of U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard officers, as well as trained personnel for the maritime industry and electric power industries ashore. Key to training these future deck officers and engineers has been the annual sea cruise on dedicated training vessels. The current SMA training ships, all of which were built for other purposes and later converted to be training ships, are getting old.

29 May 2014

McIntosh Named CTruk Chairman

Peter McIntosh

Composite high-speed craft designer and builder CTruk has appointed shipbuilding industry veteran Peter McIntosh OBE to succeed Andy White as chairman. McIntosh, the former executive director of VT Group PLC, holds experience of the marine and defense industries and will steer the innovative company through its next stage of growth, CTruk said. White will remain on the board as an executive director. Managing director Ben Simpson will be working closely with McIntosh on implementing…

01 Oct 2013

Vestdavit Appoints U.K. Director of Operations

Andy James

Norway-based boat handling system and specialized davit supplier Vestdavit has appointed Andy James as Director of Operations for the U.K. Andy James served 25 years in the Royal Navy as an engineer, including working ashore as a workshop manager in a shipyard and as a project manager for new equipment. At the VT Group (later BAE) he helped implement and provide a fully commercial model of support to a fleet of six RN warships. Rolf Andreas Wigand, Managing Director, Vestdavit, said, “The U.K.

25 Sep 2009

VT Group Disposal of Shareholding, BVT Surface Fleet

Support services company VT Group plc announced that it has signed a legally binding agreement with BAE Systems plc on the disposal of its 45 percent shareholding in BVT Surface Fleet Limited, the shipbuilding and naval support joint venture between BAE and VT, for cash consideration of $551.9m. In accordance with the joint venture agreement signed by VT and BAE on 11 June 2008 in relation to BVT, this cash consideration corresponds to the minimum exercise price of VT’s Put Option of $606.1m plus approximately $.9m of notional interest and net of deductions of $19.4m in respect of pensions liabilities, $35.1m in respect of dividend repayments and $.3m in respect of notional interest on funding provided by BAE Systems to BVT.

31 Jul 2009

VT Group, Trading in Line with Expectations

According to a July 30 report from The Wall Street Journal, U.K. defense and support services company VT Group PLC said it was trading in line with its own expectations and expects to deliver on its pledge to make net annual savings of $24.7m. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

24 Jun 2009

Lloyd’s Surveys Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers

Senior management from BVT - a joint venture between BAE Systems and VT Group - the Ministry of Defence and Lloyd's Register met in Lloyd's Register’s London Boardroom to sign a contract for survey during construction of the Royal Navy’s two new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. Under the contract, Lloyd’s Register EMEA will perform the surveys required to assign the selected class notations from Lloyd’s Register’s Naval Ship Rules. The signatures of Richard Sadler…

29 May 2009

NAIAD Acquires VT Motion Control Group

USA Naiad Maritime Group, Inc. and VT Group plc (VT) announced Naiad Maritime Group’s completion of the acquisition of the collection of businesses known as the VT Motion Control Group, including Naiad Marine Systems, Maritime Dynamics, Vosper Motion Control and Vosper Stabilizers. The acquisition was led by John Venables, former Group President of the VT Motion Control businesses, with 27 years in various engineering and executive capacities at the companies. Venables will continue to lead the business as President & CEO of Naiad Maritime Group. Naiad Maritime Group, Inc. is comprised of Naiad Dynamics US, Inc., Naiad Dynamics UK, Limited, and Naiad Dynamics Holland, BV. It has operations in Connecticut, Maryland, Florida, and Washington, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Australia.

03 Jul 2008

CVF Manufacturing Contract Boosts VT Group

VT Group announced that its new shipbuilding and naval support joint venture, BVT Surface Fleet Limited, is to be the major beneficiary from the manufacturing contract signed for two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers (CVF). The CVF contract will contribute in the region of £3 billion to BVT’s order book, of which just under half will be delivered by the joint venture directly and the balance sub-contracted. CVF revenues will start to flow through BVT shortly with production of the first carrier set to start later this year. VT owns 45 percent of BVT, with the remaining 55 per cent owned by Systems. BVT, which officially started operations on July 1…

11 Jun 2008

VT and BAE Agree on Shipbuilding JV

VT Group has finalized its shipbuilding joint venture with BAE Systems. Under the agreement -- the terms of which are substantially unchanged from those set out in the framework agreement in July 2007 -- the BVT Surface Fleet Ltd joint venture will be owned 45 percent by VT and 55 percent by BAE Systems. The joint venture, under which VT has an option to sell its stake to BAE for at least $745 million, is key to VT's attempts to focus entirely on support services, leaving behind its origins as a shipbuilder, Reuters said. Last July, gave the go-ahead for plans to build two aircraft carriers, triggering the deal to merge operations at BAE and VT, 's two largest shipbuilders.

21 May 2008

Britain to Sign Contract for New Aircraft Carriers

Britain is set to sign a long-awaited $7.8b deal to build two aircraft carriers, which will be the Royal Navy's largest ever ships and are set for 50 years of service. The 65,000-ton carriers are said to be called Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales and will enter service in 2014 and 2016. The manufacturing contract is going to a consortium that includes a shipbuilding joint venture being set up between two British companies, BAE Systems and VT Group. Other members include Britain's Babcock International Group and France's Thales, which designed the ships. Final signing of the contract had been expected earlier this year but was delayed. The new carriers will be much smaller than their U.S.

27 Feb 2008

FSL Celebrates 10 Years

Naval support company Fleet Support Limited (FSL) celebrates its tenth anniversary at the end of February with the satisfaction of having played a key role in the renaissance of Portsmouth Naval Base. The Joint Venture between BAE Systems and VT Group was established originally to manage the former Fleet Maintenance and Repair Organization (FMRO). Some 1,000 employees, primarily involved in ship repair, transferred to the new company as the private sector became tasked with improving efficiency and reducing costs in the Base.

13 Dec 2007

Sperry INBS for New Aircraft Carrier

Northrop Grumman Corporation was selected to provide a new-generation integrated navigation and bridge system (INBS) for the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF) project. The initial INBS design-phase contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, the industrial alliance that, in the manufacture phase of the project, will include the planned Joint Venture between VT Group and BAES (including BAES Marine and BAES Integrated System Technologies), Babcock Support Services Ltd, Thales Naval and MOD. The INBS will be based on Sperry Marine’s VisionMaster FT technology and will bring together all of the ships’ navigation sensors and systems into a modern…

12 Aug 2003

Rolls-Royce Acquires VT Controls

Rolls-Royce has acquired marine electrical systems company VT Controls Ltd for £11 million, continuing its growth strategy in the marine market. VT Controls Ltd, acquired from the VT Group, will be incorporated into the Rolls-Royce Marine Electrical Systems business set up earlier this year. The acquisition is an important addition to the new business's capability, as it ramps up to support marine projects involving major electrical systems. Based in Portsmouth, VT Controls Ltd has provided power or automation systems on all front line UK naval platforms in the last decade and is involved in current naval programmes both in the UK and abroad. The company has an impressive pedigree that stretches as far back as the early 1970s when it supplied controls for Brazil's Mk 10 frigates.

24 May 2002

Halmatic Acquires Cara Marine Limited

Halmatic, part of the VT Group, has acquired the Cara Marine Limited commercial craft designs and moulds. These will be added to its existing comprehensive range of workboats and related craft. Cara Marine will now concentrate on its strategy to build leisure craft. Although Halmatic supplies mouldings to the leisure boat market, it does not actively market designs or supply complete craft for this sector. Halmatic Managing Director Mike Burnham commented: “It is difficult to combine the differing approaches demanded by commercial and leisure boat customers. This also has an impact on price and profitability. By concentrating on our respective strengths…

21 Apr 2005

VT Halmatic Names New Tech Director

VT Halmatic said that Professor Bob Cripps, currently Engineering Manager at the RNLI, will be joining VT Halmatic as Technical Director as of May 9, 2005. Professor Cripps worked at Lloyds before moving to the RNLI and has extensive technical knowledge and experience of small craft and composite technology. The continuing challenge for technical excellence is essential to the VT Halmatic business plan. Professor Bob Cripps will lead the technical team supported by Dr Andrew Humphries, Marine Design Manager and Dr Robin Mableson, who heads up the Composite Technology Centre. The VT Composite Technology Centre (CTC) was formed in 2001 by the amalgamation of composite expertise from various divisions within the VT Group.

14 Nov 2007

VT Closes in on Military Contracts

VT Group is closing in on two significant military service contracts and hopes to become preferred bidder on a waste management private finance bid in Wakefield that it said could double its order book by the end of the financial year in March. By the end of September, the group, which is focused on shipbuilding and defense services group, had lifted its order book by $413.6m to $7.66b compared with the interim period last year, thanks to a $310.1m shipbuilding deal for Trinidad and Tobago and regular contracts of up to $103.4m. Mike Murphy, analyst at Panmure Gordon, reportedly said the two military deals – covering flight training and air tanker services – would take the group’s order book to at least $10.3b by the end of the year.

24 Oct 2007

BAE-VT Shipbuilding JV Approved

Britain's BAE Systems (BAES.L) and VT Group (VTG.L) won permission from the European Commission on Wednesday to merge their shipbuilding operations, according to a Reuters report. BAE will hold 55 percent and VT the remainder, and the deal will involve BAE selling its 50 percent stake in Flagship Training Ltd to VT for up to $152.6m. The Commission noted that the two companies had not bid against each other in the design or building of a naval surface ship in the past decade, and so there was no problem with the venture. [Source: Reuters]

29 Aug 2007

VT Group names Harrison Finance Director

VT Group has appointed Philip Harrison as its new finance director with effect from November 19. Harrison joins VT Group from Hewlett-Packard where he has been vice president finance for Europe, Middle East and Africa since 2002. The shipbuilding and support services company said that group commercial director Chris Cundy, who was the acting finance director, will now focus fully on PFI, business development and the group's shipbuilding joint venture. Source: Thomson