Issue 9 Jan 2009.indd - Ministry of Defence

More documents

Recommendations

Info

18 feature defence equipment and support • • To equip and support our armed forces for operations now and in the future • • defence equipment and support • It’s all in the preparation at Rosyth If you see huge sections of warship on barges inching their way up the UK coast in a few years’ time, chances are they are on their way to Rosyth. Work is under way to prepare the Firth of Forth yard’s No 1 dock – originally built in 1916 – to accommodate the two massive 65,000 tonne aicraft carriers to be in service in the next decade. The yard contains the largest non-tidal basin for ship repair in the UK and Babcock Marine is working to increase the capacity of the dock as well as widening the entrance to allow entry of the parts, and departure of the 280-metre long 56-metre high carriers. A £15 million 120-metre span crane – nicknamed Goliath – is also being installed to straddle the dock. Up to 150 staff from BAM Nuttall are doing the engineering in a £35 million contract with Babcock on behalf of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, which also includes BVT Surface Fleet, Thales UK, BAE Systems and DE&S as both participant and client. There are workers from around 50 other sub-contractors also working on site. Work on No 1 dock began last March and is set to be completed by summer 2010. “The project is in full swing and on schedule,” said Sean Donaldson, Babcock’s carrier project director at Rosyth. “The first parts of the first carrier will arrive in the summer of 2011, so we are not going to be short of things to do in the next few years.” While contracts to build the carriers were only signed earlier this year staff at Rosyth have been preparing for the work for at least two years. “The work presents some challenges because it is related to old structures and, as the majority is below ground and in a marine environment, the project has significant risks,” said Mr Donaldson. “We have spent two years on site investigations and de-risking activity to get to this stage. But working with the MOD we knew that investing the money up front would save us much in the long term.” The first carrier should be in dock for between 18 and 24 months. Assembly of the second will begin soon afterwards. It is a complex logistical process. “It is a joint team doing the integration, led by BVT, to make sure all the pieces of the puzzle do fit together,” said Mr Donaldson. “It is a very challenging timeline but it is in all our interests to make sure everyone comes together. We are all incentivised to work together to complete the project. “We were refitting nuclear submarines at Rosyth until 2001 and they were massively complex projects. We have also refitted each of the current aircraft carriers. But we are certainly not complacent. We have had a team in place, three years ahead, to make sure we can complete this task.” The dock is long enough to accommodate each vessel but its cross section is unsuitable for modern warship building, the ship’s hull being flat-bottomed rather than the traditional V-shape. Huge granite steps, known as altars, that stick out from the side of the dock are being cut back to the width of the top tier. The dock floor will be nine metres wider when they have been removed. Work is now underway to widen the main entrance to the Rosyth basin from the Firth of Forth. The 38-metre wide entrance features a sliding gate to hold the tidal water back but is soon to be increased to 42 metres. A 25-metre deep wall will be installed behind the existing entrance wall to allow excavation work, with The Royal Navy’s two new aircraft carriers will be assembled in Rosyth early in the next decade. Work is already well under way to make sure the dockyard is ready Report: Steve Moore the void filled with concrete. This will a existing entrance wall to be demolished the final face of the new entrance is inst Goliath is due to arrive in August 20 handover soon after. Built by Shanghai Port Machinery, the 68-metre gantry cr straddle the dock will be able to lift up t tonnes from three hooks, two suspende upper trolley and one from a central, low which will have a capacity of 500 tonne The individual capacity of each of th hooks provides valuable flexibility in lif awkward loads and will allow units or b be turned over. Nearly 90 reinforced co bored piles are being socketed three me the underlying rock on the eastern side dock as foundations for the crane with f piles driven up to seven metres into roc western side. The crane will arrive partially erecte the newly-widened dockyard entrance a ‘skidded’ from ship to shore onto the cr DE&S visitors to the dockyard to see progress Babcock are making have incl Director Capital Ships, Tony Graham, w the works in the autumn. “This is an exciting time for the CVF as, around the UK, we make final prepa cutting of steel on the ships in early 09,” “For stability, the Goliath crane will two uprights either side of the dock and a towering icon of engineering endeavo industrial capability. “In this sense, it parallels an ever-re world class carrier strike capability rest it does on the two iconic ships – HMS Q Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales – lif Royal Navy into a new modern age.” ‘We are certainly not complacent. We have had a team in place, three years ahead, to make sure we can complete this t
feature • • To equip and support our armed forces for operations now and in the future • • defence equipment and support • • To equip and support our 19 ll allow the ed, before nstalled. 2010 with ai Zhenhua crane to p to 1,000 ded from an lower trolley nes. the three lifting r blocks to concrete metres into de of the h further ock on the cted through e and will be crane rails. see the ncluded the , who saw VF project parations for 9,” he said. ill rest on nd will be vour and ready and esting as Queen lifting the task’ Above: No 1 dock, being made ready for its next guest, the fi rst of the new aircraft carriers Right: the cofferdam in place Below: concrete is removed during demolition works for widening of the dock entrance Dam marks big milestone A MAJOR milestone has already passed at Rosyth’s No 1 dock with the completion of a cofferdam, a huge enclosure of steel and rock fill extending 14 metres from the basin floor to dockside level. The cofferdam creates a dry working environment where the civil contractor can work. Five circular steel 18.5m diameter cells have been built to sit on the bed of the main basin and then filled in with thousands of tonnes of imported rock. It is the biggest cofferdam of this type built for many years. “Modifying a dock in a marine environment like this is not easy,” said Babcock civil engineer Mike Murray. “The design and installation of the temporary works needed to hold back the water during the construction period can be very challenging. The No 1 dock cofferdam alone weighs more than 50,000 tonnes and has to resist around 8,000 tonnes of thrust imposed by the retained water in the basin. It has to be buildable and sealable. Sealing is the craft bit and the difficulty is making the seal at the basin bed. “We are on time. The No 1 dock cofferdam was constructed in six weeks and is working well.” When work on No 1 dock has finished the cofferdam will be removed and installed at the basin entrance along with another bespoke structure on the river side to allow the entrance to be widened.
Page 1 and 2: ASTOR into service Bulldog is top d
Page 3 and 4: 14 Inside cover image Every second
Page 5 and 6: Building continues as carriers’ i
Page 7 and 8: New batch on the way as boats prove
Page 9 and 10: AN UPDATED command system has been
Page 11 and 12: Bulldog is top dog! DE&S programme
Page 13 and 14: can’t see this changing in the fu
Page 15 and 16: feature • • To equip and suppor
Page 17: feature • • To equip and suppor
Page 21 and 22: ture must be too Do we have a just
Page 23 and 24: New system keeps Type 23 in command
Page 25 and 26: or RAF painting Surface Finishing S
Page 27 and 28: Ships cluster successes marked Reco
Page 29 and 30: MOD APPRENTICES gathered at Main Bu
Page 31 and 32: Working a different beat DE&S exper
Page 33 and 34: PACE • Performance, Agility, Conf
Page 35 and 36: PROMOTE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE IN

Issue 9 Jan 2009.indd - Ministry of Defence

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?