Vt Shipbuilding News

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…

According to a report from Trinidad Express Newspapers, the government is currently in talks with the U.S., Italy and Spain to secure vessels to patrol local waters and provide naval protection and surveillance. This follows cancellation of a contract with BAE Systems, signed by the People's National Movement administration in 2007 with VT Shipbuilding to build and commission three OPV's at a cost a £150 million.   (Source: Trinidad Express Newspapers)

Dr. Michael Bruno, Dean of the Schaefer School of Engineering and Science at Stevens Institute of Technology, has been selected as Chairman of the Marine Board, under the auspices of the Transportation Research Board ( TRB ) and the National Research Council (NRC). The Marine Board identifies and responds to critical issues in the area of water transportation, port engineering and management, marine policy, offshore development and operations, naval architecture, and maritime economics.

The Atlantic Center for the Innovative Design and Control of Small Ships (ACCeSS) at Stevens Institute of Technology announced major funding for the next five years worth $4.5m by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) as part of its National Naval Responsibility – Naval Engineering (NNR-NE) program. ACCeSS is a consortium of both University and Industry partners including: the U.S. Naval Academy, Naval Post Graduate School, University College London; Florida Atlantic University; Webb Institute; Lockheed Martin; AMSEC LLC (Northrop-Grumman); VT Shipbuilding and Band-Lavis Associates. Established at Stevens in 2002, the ACCeSS Research Center…

Colfax Corporation a provider of fluid-handling solutions, announced  that VT Shipbuilding has awarded the company a $1.3m contract, which names the company as its preferred marine pump provider.    Colfax will be supplying VT Shipbuilding with a portfolio of pumps from their brands including Allweiler and

Atlas Elektronik UK, with its Atlas-QED consortium partners ITT Corporation (formerly EDO Corporation) and QinetiQ, has achieved a successful Critical Design Review of a mine counter measures (MCM) flexible agile sweeping technology (FAST) technology readiness demonstrator (TRD), in line with the main program schedule. The demonstrator, which is being supplied under contract, will ultimately enable the MoD to put a combined influence sweep (CIS) replacement into service using FAST Technology. This latest milestone follows an Interim Design Review in September 2007. With the build phase well underway, the program remains on track to achieve the target of readiness for formal trials later this year.

The man at the helm of the biggest shipbuilding company has praised a North-East marine design facility for its efforts to tackle a skills issue that threatens to subdue the region's thriving sector, the Northern Echo said. Alan Johnston, chief executive of BVT Surface Fleet - a joint venture between BAE Systems and VT Shipbuilding - hailed the Marine Design Centre, in , as playing a potentially crucial role in recruitment and training. Source:  Northern Echo

VT Shipbuilding will start production of its latest export program on January 23 when the High Commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago starts the steel cutting process for the first of three Offshore Patrol Vessels at Portsmouth Naval Base. The 295-ft. ships will be used to help protect Trinidad and Tobago's oil and gas resources besides taking on constabulary roles such as environmental protection, fishery protection and anti-drugs operations. The first ship will be handed over in 2009.

The Mirabella V mast is loaded on a barge to leave the VT Halmatic Portchester shipyard. VT Halmatic completed production of the world’s tallest yacht mast, which will be fitted on the Mirabella V under construction by parent company VT Shipbuilding. The 90 m hollow carbon epoxy mast, which has a maximum cross section of 1.6 m and structural thickness of up to 40mm, will support some 3,400 sq. m. of sail. Having been loaded onto a barge at VT Halmatic’s Portchester shipyard, the mast was transported to Southampton Docks where the rigging will be dressed and the mast will be stepped before fitting out is completed. The mast has been manufactured in halves, with the back half comprising two sections and the front half divided into three sections.

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]

VT Shipbuilding will unveil a design tailored to meet the lower end of the U.K. Royal Navy's (RN's) projected Future Surface Combatant (FSC) program, reports said. It is expected to outline a financing and support strategy based on previous experience of leasing ships to the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD). The FSC program is intended to recapitalize the RN's frigate and minor war vessel fleet out to 2035. Under current plans, the programme is expected to comprise three tiers of ships - known as C1, C2 and C3 - to replace the RN's Type 22 and Type 23 frigates, plus legacy mine-countermeasures (MCM) vessels and survey ships. VT is unveiling…

VT Shipbuilding has delivered the fourth bow section for the Royal Navy’s new Class of Daring Class destroyers to BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions’ Govan shipyard in Glasgow. The 50-m section, weighing some 1100 tons, was loaded out from VT’s advanced shipbuilding facilities in Portsmouth Naval Base and placed on a barge which was subsequently towed to Glasgow in a four-day voyage via the Irish Sea. The bow will now be consolidated with the rest of HMS Dragon, which is under construction by BAE. The funnel and masts, which VT is also building, will follow to Glasgow later this year. With four bows delivered, the remaining two are…

In a statement provided with the company's Preliminary Results , VT Group's chairman Michael Jeffries gave an indication of how the new shipbuilding venture between his company and BAE Systems would be structured. He said "We announced in December 2006 that we had entered into discussions with BAE Systems to combine our respective surface shipbuilding and naval support businesses, including Fleet Support Limited (FSL). The proposed consolidation is in line with the Defence Industrial Strategy and would create a world-class provider and strategic partner for the UK Government. He also confirmed VT Group's withdrawal from small commercial boatbuilding activities. Earlier the group announced that VT Halmatic would be restructured and would concentrate on the build of small military vessels.

Construction of the Royal Navy's huge new aircraft carriers moved a step closer after it was said that the two warship builders are on the cusp of a merger. VT Group and BAe Systems are reportedly just five weeks away from signing a deal. The merger – which includes VT’s shipbuilding facility in Portsmouth naval base – is being driven by the government’s desire to streamline the industry. BAe Systems and VT Group said in December that they were in early discussions regarding the combination of their surface ship and naval support businesses. Source: Portsmouth News

According to The News, Portchester-based VT Halmatic has told workers that up to 130 of the 270 workforce could be made redundant. The business has been under threat for some months and has now announced it is to cut costs by making fewer types of boats and reducing the workforce. Letters have been sent out to the threatened workers which gives them options to apply for jobs elsewhere in the VT Group. Company officials said, following a decline in orders for some Ministry of Defense and commercial craft, we have undertaken a strategic review that will result in us exiting some product lines and restructuring the business. VT Group has been reviewing the Halmatic site in recent months.

VT Group, the support services and shipbuilding company, said it remains on course to deliver results for the first half of the year in line with its expectations. In a statement ahead of the Nov 14 release of results for the first half, the group said its order book currently stands at 3.5 bln stg. Turning to divisional performances, the group said VT Communications has achieved strong revenue growth in the first half and has recently been awarded an initial 5 year contract with a potential value of 20 mln stg million, commencing in January 2007, to broadcast analogue and digital shortwave programmes for Deutsche Welle, the German public broadcaster. VT Shipbuilding continues to make good progress on production of the Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyers.

HMS Clyde, the first ship to be built in Portsmouth Naval Base for nearly 40 years, was named in a night ceremony at VT Shipbuilding’s facilities. The Royal Navy’s new 80m. Offshore Patrol Vessel (Helicopter) was named by Mrs Lesley Dunt, wife of Vice Admiral Peter Dunt, Director of Defence Estates. The VIP event was attended by leading figures from the RN and defence industry, along with around 1,000 specially invited guests and VT employees. Dunt smashed the champagne bottle against the hull of the new ship, starting a laser light and firework show. HMS Clyde is the first ship constructed in the Base since 1967 when the Leander Class frigate HMS Andromeda was built.

HMS Clyde, the first ship to be built in Portsmouth Naval Base for nearly 40 years, will be named in a night ceremony at VT Shipbuilding’s facilities on Thursday, September 7. The Royal Navy’s new 80m Offshore Patrol Vessel (Helicopter) will be named by Mrs Lesley Dunt, wife of Vice Admiral Peter Dunt, Director of Defense Estates. When Mrs Dunt smashes the champagne bottle against the hull of the new ship, it will signal the start of a laser light and firework extravaganza that will fill the night air. HMS Clyde is the first ship constructed in the Base since 1967 when the Leander Class frigate HMS Andromeda was built. The catalyst for…

HMS Clyde is an 262.2 ft. offshore patrol vessel for the Royal Navy which has been built by VT Shipbuilding and will be used as the new Falkland Islands patrol ship. The ship marks the renaissance of shipbuilding in Portsmouth Naval Base because it is the first vessel to be built in the Base since the Leander Class frigate HMS Andromeda in May 1967. HMS Clyde will be named on Thursday, September 7, by Mrs Lesley Dunt, wife of Vice Admiral Peter Dunt, Director of Defence Estates, in a grand ceremony at VT Shipbuilding’s facilities in the Base. The VIP event will be attended by leading officials from the Navy and other key defence industry figures, along with around 1,000 guests from VT and the city of Portsmouth.

VT Shipbuilding started production of the latest Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer on July 31. Construction of the fifth ship in the Class, which will be called HMS Defender, was officially started by Matt Roberts, Leader of the Defense Procurement Agency’s Type 45 Integrated Project Team. He started cutting steel on VT’s advanced laser machine to signal the launch of production. The bow section is scheduled to leave VT in February 2008 for consolidation with the rest of the ship, which will be built at the Govan yard of Type 45 prime contractor BAE Systems Naval Ships. VT is building the bow sections, funnels and masts of all six Type 45 destroyers on order and the 1,000 tons section will eventually be 50 m long and some 14 m high.

Acting on behalf of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA), UK-based BAE Systems Marine Limited, has closed a contract with the Spanish company Sener Ingeniería y Sistemas S.A., for the license to use the FORAN System in the development of the Stage 1 (System Design) of the CVF Project (UK Royal Navy Future Aircraft Carrier). The contract involves around 100 FORAN seats and a specified set of support services. Activities have started immediately and FORAN has already been installed at the Glasgow, Barrow-in-Furness and Portsmouth sites. Services to be provided by SENER include training, customization, on-site and remote technical assistance, as well as the development of interfaces between FORAN and existing Business Systems.

VT Shipbuilding completed its construction work on the Royal Navy’s first-of-class Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring with delivery of the foremast to BAE Systems Naval Ships in Glasgow. The 89-tons steel structure was lifted onto a barge at VT’s Portsmouth Shipbuilding Facility and towed over 600 nautical miles by tug, completing the transit in just over four days. The foremast was then transferred directly to HMS Daring where fitting out will be completed. The major element of the foremast is to house the Sampson multi-function radar suite, which will be linked to the ship’s Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS). VT has already installed some 12,000 m of cable inside the 19 m high mast, with 800 different cables and 400 pipes included in the structure.

According to reports, BAE Systems and VT, revealed that they were considering a joint bid for Babcock, the support services and shipbuilding group, in a move that could trigger the consolidation of Britain's warship construction capability. VT could join with Babcock as a support services group, which could then sell VT's shipbuilding business to BAE and still have critical mass. This would create a single shipbuilding entity in BAE, which would find it easier to cut capacity and become more efficient. Source: The Guardian and The Financial Times