Shiprepair & Maintenance: September 2020
Engineering service supplier Babcock International has received a four-year contract from Serco to maintain and repair ships used for the NorthLink ferries’ Northern Isles ferry services, which operate between Scotland’s mainland and the Orkney and Shetland Islands.
Under the passenger and freight ferry contract terms, the central location for approximately 15 dockings will be at Babcock’s facility in Rosyth, Scotland. There, the vessels will undergo vital maintenance to ensure they can continue operating for the Northern Isles, the first of which has already taken place with ro-ro cargo vessel M.V. Helliar docking for maintenance and repair work in June.
Babcock is confident the new contract will prove beneficial to both the Scottish economy and the company’s supply chain. The company has invested significantly in its Rosyth facility over the last decade and adds that the remodelled modern maritime support facility at Rosyth is ideally located and suitable for the ferries to drydock and complete repair services.
Sean Donaldson, managing director at Babcock Rosyth, comments: “Babcock is delighted to have been awarded the contract by Serco to maintain and repair vessels for the Northern Isles ferry services. The service is vital to so many communities and ensuring that the vessels remain fit for service is our priority.”
At the Rosyth facility a group of 60 specialists including welders, mechanical fitters, electricians and fabricators will use the company’s engineering, naval architecture and project management expertise to complete the vessels’ maintenance and repair work.
Babcock already has a well-established history with NorthLink Ferries through a series of cooperative projects completed in the last four years, and this new contract is an extension of that relationship.
