8 NAVY NEWS, MARCH 1997 Options
Navy hands over Rosyth to Babcock Defence Ltd
Full order book for privatised dockyard ROSYTH Royal Dockyard is officially in private hands after a symbolic hand over of keys by the Navy to the base's new owner. At a ceremony under the dockyard's famous pedestrian bridge, Chief of Fleet Support Vice Admiral Sir Toby Frere relinquished his command of the base to Mr Allen Smith, Chairman of Babcock Rosyth Defence Ltd. Admiral Frere said: "We wish Rosyth all possible success in its new, privatised form, and look forward to building on the long-established relationship between the MOD and the dockyard. "The sale of the dockyard to Babcock marks the start of a new chapter in its history -- it marks a clean break between the MOD and the dockyard company. "To assist in this process we have allocated a significant programme of ship refit work to the yard, lasting well into the next decade. Rosyth will remain a key element of the Royal Navy's support in Scotland." In true Naval tradition, Mr Smith was asked to sign for the key despite the hundreds of witnesses present, including FOSNNI, local MP Rachael Squire and the Lord Lieutenant of Fife, The Earl of Elgin and Kincardine. After the new owners had opened the gates to the strains of FOSNNI's Royal Marines Band, Admiral Frere and Rear Admiral Tolhurst chatted to many young dockyard employees.
Mr Smith said: "This is a proud day for Rosyth and its employees. Now we have received the key to the door we will be able to compete in new areas for new types of work." He added his thanks to the Ministry of Defence Police for their 'courtesy, care and efficiency' over the years guarding one of the UK's major Naval centres of excellence.
Major refits Babcock's Managing Director Mr David Batty said: "We are in good shape and have a healthy work load for the next five years with HMS Ark Royal coming here for refit' in 1998 and possibly Invincible in 2001. "We also have allocated two Swiftsure-class refits, HM submarines Sceptre and Spartan, each worth £175 million, and two Resolution boats to decommission." The road to privatisation began three years ago, though Babcocks have been running the yard as an MOD contractor since 1987.
The Naval base next door shut almost a year ago and negotiations over its sale to the Rosyth 2000 consortium (of which Babcock is a member) continue.
SHIPS OF THE ROYAL NAVY AND RFA
• Above: HMS Newcastle, now completing her trials programme and nearing the end of her refit period at Rosyth Royal Dockyard. • Right: Chief of Fleet Support, Vice Admiral Sir Toby Frere, meets young employees of Babcock Rosyth Defence Ltd • Below: HMS Newcastle arriving at the direct entrance to Rosyth for her major refit
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PORTLAND LANDS GIANT FLIGHT DECK SIMULATOR FLIGHT deck training at Portland soars into the 21st Century in March with the installation of a huge virtual reality simulator. The projection-based equipment is the most complex simulator yet acquired by the Royal Navy and should result in considerable savings with the reduction in real time flying hours required to train FDOs. Tim Smart of Applied Visuals Ltd, the com. pany responsible for the simulator's design,
build and installation, said: "Although virtual reality cannot replace the real-life experience, it is an extremely cost effective method of delivering consistent training. Helicopter hours are expensive. VR helps to resolve this problem." The system can simulate a wide variety of weather conditions and sea states at any hour of the day or night and incorporates a number of emergency situations.