A&P Tyne's Hebburn Yard Hits Construction Milestone For New Polar Research Vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough.

A major feat of engineering takes place today (21 August) as the stern section of the new polar research ship for Britain, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, leaves A&P Tyne’s Hebburn shipyard, part of A&P Group, for Cammell Laird in Birkenhead.

The stern will form part of the new ship RRS Sir David Attenborough, which is a major UK Government investment in frontier science. Commissioned by NERC, and built by marine engineering company Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders Ltd, the vessel is a Rolls-Royce design and will be operated by British Antarctic Survey when the ship enters service in 2019.

A&P Tyne’s specialist team of engineers and fabricators has invested more than 175,000 man hours in the fabrication of the 899-tonne steel stern, also known as Block 10, which is the equivalent weight of 71 London double decker buses and more than 23 meters long and 24 meters wide.

David McGinley, group managing director of A&P Group, said: “This project is the very epitome of how the UK’s ship building industry can work together to not only deliver the best in class engineering and fabrication but to hone and nurture the very best talent and skills too.

“As one of the country’s leading fabrication businesses we’ve been actively involved in many major projects for the commercial marine, defence, oil and gas, subsea and offshore wind sectors and it’s a privilege and honour to add such a high profile and important research ship to the list. This project is also testament that ship building continues to flourish on the Tyne.”

Block 10 will begin its journey from Hebburn to Cammell Laird in Birkenhead on Monday 21st August, subject to tides and weather, and will be loaded onto a barge using self-propelled modular trailers by heavy transport and installation contractors ALE. It is a complex operation involving hydraulic ballast pumps to keep the barge level while the heavy load moves onto it from the slipway. ALE will secure the block by specially-designed sea-fastenings during its transit to Cammell Laird which may take up to five days. The barge is likely to travel south through the English Channel.

This ‘load-out’ operation is the outcome of a collaboration between A&P Group and Cammell Laird and is a clear demonstration of the benefits that a flexible and co-ordinated effort brings to the construction of the RRS Sir David Attenborough and to the UK ship-building industry.

John Syvret CBE, chief executive officer of both Cammell Laird and A&P Group said: “The construction of the blocks by the A&P Group, as a contractor to Cammell Laird, is a tremendous showcase for British shipbuilding and engineering. Whilst both organisations are fierce competitors who very much ‘compete where they must’, they also on an arm’s length commercial basis ‘cooperate where they can’.

“The RRS Sir David Attenborough ship build contract facilitates this cooperation where positive commercial benefits have been achieved. This is a business model that proved to be very successful in the building of Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers, where both organisations undertook the construction of circa 20,000 tonnes of large sections of flight deck modules for the two ships, and can be deployed and utilised on other contracts in the future. This is precisely the kind of collaboration that can help rebuild the commercial shipbuilding industry and provide thousands of highly-skilled jobs.

“What we are doing in fact is providing proof of concept, of the strategy outlined in Sir John Parkers National Shipbuilding Strategy report commissioned by UK Government. By investing in UK shipyards, and encouraging shipyards to work together, the UK can dramatically ramp up the number of ships it builds, converts and repairs, for the commercial and naval sectors at home and abroad. The impact on job and wealth creation would, in turn, be massive and investment could be ploughed into young people, skills, facilities and communities.

“The RRS Sir David Attenborough when built will be one of the most advanced ships of its type in the world. Cammell Laird beat off international competition from around the world to win the contract, proving the calibre of its workforce and facilities. We urge ship owners and management companies around the UK and the world to visit and see first-hand the quality of this vessel, and what the UK marine engineering industry can build for them.”

Mr Syvret has also paid tribute to the workforce building the RRS Sir David Attenborough. He said: “We know there is huge passion in the entire Cammell Laird workforce, as well as in our supply chain and at A&P for this project. The project is progressing well and we would also like to thank the British Antarctic Survey and the Natural Environmental Research Council for their support. We very much look forward to an unforgettable slipway launch in 2018.”

British Antarctic Survey’s Director of Operations, Tim Stockings said: “We’re really excited at seeing our new ship RRS Sir David Attenborough taking shape. The ship represents an important partnership with UK industry to deliver world leading science for the UK and beyond. The load out is another incredible milestone in this amazing project. We cannot wait to take delivery of this fantastic ship.”