Pyeroy wins naval ships repaint contracts

Submitted by on Wed, 25.06.08

£2m work and up to 30 new jobs.

Protective coatings specialist Pyeroy Ltd has won the contracts to repaint two Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, RFA Fort Rosalie and RFA Fort George.

 

The work involves the preparation and painting of internal machinery spaces and tanks as well as external decks, hull, superstructure and flight deck on the ships.

 

The combined contracts, worth in excess of £2 million, will take six months to complete and are being undertaken by the Gateshead-based firm’s Marine Division for North West Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders Ltd (NSL) at its Birkenhead facility.

 

NSL has been awarded preferred contractor status with the MoD for a potential five year maintenance contract on 11 Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships used to replenish Royal Navy vessels with stores and armaments for their operational life.

 

The first  vessels due this year for refit under the new ‘cluster’ arrangement are the RFA Gold Rover and the RFA Bayleaf. Other vessels are scheduled for refit next year.

 

Pyeroy intends to use as much expertise as possible from the Birkenhead while also drawing from within its own resources in the early stages of the work but expects that up to 30 new jobs could eventually be created.

 

The 24,000 tonne RFA Fort Rosalie was built on the River Clyde by Scott Lithgow and saw active service during the Falklands War, while the 32,000 tonne Fort George is a combined fleet stores and tanker built by Swan Hunter on Tyneside and commissioned in 1993.

The work undertaken by NSL and Pyeroy will help extend the useful life of these vessels by a number of years.

 

Pyeroy has over 30 years experience with major ship repair and ship building yards, both within commercial shipbuilding and within the Royal Navy dockyards, and is probably the largest and most experienced marine painting contractor in the UK.

 

These new contracts are the latest of several high profile projects awarded in the past year including the Type 23 frigates’ HMS St Albans and HMS Sutherland and the Type 42 destroyer HMS Gloucester.

 

Pyeroy is also close to completing work on repainting the former mine hunter HMS

Penzance at the Rosyth Dockyard, which has been bought by the Estonian Navy, and the RFA Sir Galahad at Portsmouth (for transfer to Brazil’s navy).

 

Jack Hayton, director of Pyeroy’s Marine Division, said: “These are very prestigious contracts, which we have won in the face of strong competition.

 

“We have a long-standing relationship with NSL and are proud to be associated with them and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

 

“The agreement between NSL and the MoD is an innovative procurement reform initiative that aims to provide significant savings to the UK tax paying public and will increase the operational availability and capability of the fleet.”

 

“That the painting elements of these important first projects have been entrusted to Pyeroy is a reflection of the trust NSL has in our ability, and we look forward to reinforcing this relationship by delivering a quality product to cost and on time.”

 

Just as Pyeroy’s Marine Division is a market leader in the painting of ships, the firm’s Industrial Coatings Division is a market leader in the painting of bridges. It has been involved in the Forth Rail Bridge refurbishment for the past five years, as well as painting all the River Tyne bridges.

 

Recently, it secured a four year contract to repaint Tower Bridge and Southwark Bridge, which span the River Thames in London.

The Pyeroy Group also operates specialist divisions providing scaffolding, construction, insulation and environmental services.  Through a network of regional offices based around the UK and Ireland and managed from its Gateshead head office. 

 

More at www.pyeroy.co.uk