In September 2017 it was announced that Atlas Elektronik UK (AEUK) had won a £48M contract to supply up to 38 modular, multipurpose workboats for the RN. In this article, we look at these small craft in detail and how they will deliver enhanced capabilities to the fleet.
Project Vahana is the RN’s plan to replace a miscellaneous collection of launches and workboats (under 20m in length) with new vessels. These boats will be known as the ‘SEA class’ and there will be several variants based on a common hull. The first, and by far the largest vessel, survey launch HMS Magpie, has already been delivered and commissioned. More deliveries are due this year with the last boat due in service by 2021. AEUK is also responsible for the provision of initial in-service support for the vessels from 2018-24, which includes spare parts, regular maintenance and training.
The majority of the SEA class construction is being done in the UK. The main manufacture and assembly is done at AEUK’s Winfrith facility in Dorset, with testing on the Bincleaves Range in Portland Harbour. The boats will all be powered by two Yanmar marine diesels (which range in output from 350hp to 1000hp) prepared by Barrus Ltd at their custom engine facility in Bicester. Mashfords Boatyard at Cremyll, near Plymouth, has also been subcontracted for some assembly work. BMT Defence Services are supporting the project by providing safety, environmental management analysis and technical documentation.
The workboat fleet
Royal-Navy-Workboats-2The baseline workboat design can be customised with removable modules which can be transported by road, allowing the craft to be adapted for different tasks. All variants are capable of operating in up to Sea State 4 and sustain a maximum of 25 knots. Enduring high speeds in small craft, in all but the calmest seas, is very tiring for crew and passengers so KPM Marine DS100 shock-mitigation seats are fitted throughout. Living space is confined but all of the boats have at least 2 or 4 berths, a toilet, shower and galley in the forward area under the wheelhouse. Provision of basic accommodation for personnel extends the boats potential operating area and time in use.
Most of the workboats will be based in and around the three RN naval bases. Three of the 11m boats will be allocated to Hydrographic survey ships and replace the existing 9m Survey Motor Boats on board HMS Echo and Enterprise and Arctic patrol ship, HMS Protector. All three 13m boats will be allocated to HMS Prince of Wales as Passenger Transfer Boats (PTB). Able to embark 36 passengers, the boats are lowered to the water vertically through the sponsons that overhang from each side of the carrier. PTBs are intended to move personnel to and from shore, especially where port facilities are too small to allow the carrier alongside but are not intended for use in the amphibious assault role. (It should be noted that HMS Queen Elizabeth can embark three of the four ALN-139 passenger transfer boats of a quite different design supplied by Alnmaritec in 2017).
It is also likely the workboats will be embarked on Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships and Ocean survey vessel HMS Scott. Seven of the boats will be fitted with a diver support module and will be used to train and support personnel of three Fleet Diving Groups. Eight of the boats will be based on the river Dart for use by officers under training at Brittania Royal Navy College. They will replace the fleet of ageing picket boats used by the college for basic navigation, seamanship and leadership training. The officer training module will have additional bunks, workstations and teaching space.
HMS Magpie will be complemented by three 15m boats fitted with a survey module for other inshore and harbour hydrography work. The balance of boats will be used for general logistic and transport tasks and are fitted with a small davit for embarking stores. The Royal Marines will also receive some of the smaller boats to support amphibious training and operations.
Survey-Boats-comparison-1Other than HMS Magpie, The hull form of the SEA class is derived from the same 11mm ARCIMS (Atlas Remote Capability Integrated Mission Suite) boats already in service with the RN being used to develop autonomous mine warfare. There are four size variants; 11m, 13m, 15m and 18m length. The boats are constructed from glass-reinforced plastic and are propelled by Yanmar diesels driving twin waterjets. All have common steering and control systems and components which will simplify operator training, logistics and maintenance. The boats could be further adapted in future as their control systems are compatible with the ATLAS autonomy engine designed by AEUK for unmanned surface vessels. AEUK is also developing compatible littoral anti-submarine technology to be embarked in small boats, in addition to their proven minehunting and hydrography packages.
The RN has already begun training coxswains who will drive the new SEA class with courses run at HMS Raliegh. Army Combat Support Boats have been used until the new boats are available – they possess similar twin engines with steerable pump jets which allow the boats to traverse sideways. This greater manoeuvrability assists in coming alongside jetties where space may be limited. Waterjet powered workboats handle quite differently to Pacific 24 RIBs which most RN seamen are currently trained on.
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HMS Magpie has a high buoyancy bow form, which allows her to operate in quite heavy sea states without slamming occurring on her bridge deck. Seen here on trials off Ireland (Photo: Safehaven Marine) -
HMS Magpie’s powerful engines kick up a fine twin ‘rooster tail’ during trials. (Photo: Safehaven Marine) -
Magpie is propelled by a two 900hp Yanmar 6AYM 20.3 litre diesel engines (top left) driving twin Hamilton HM521 waterjets. (bottom left) Her catamaran hull and twin waterjet design can be seen as she is transported by road from the construction facility. -
Inshore survey vessel HMS Gleaner (15 meters long) served in the RN from 1983-2018 before being replaced by HMS Magpie. Her last major role was surveying Rosyth Dockyard, the Firth of Forth and Portsmouth harbour to ensure safe navigation for HMS Queen Elizabeth. -
Being replaced – 9m Survey Motor Boats including ‘James Caird IV’ (HMS Protector) and ‘Spitfire’ (HMS Enterprise). -
Being replaced – Picket boats used by officers cadets on the River Dart at BRNC (Photo: Jason Ballard) and Diving Support Boats (Photo: Photo CreatureStream )
HMS Magpie
Under a subcontract with AEUK, Safehaven Marine based in Cobh, Ireland, experts in high-performance small craft, constructed HMS Magpie to their proven Wildcat 60 design. Following initial Sea Trials, the vessel was delivered to Portland for additional equipment fit and acceptance trials. She arrived in Devonport for the first time on the 22nd June and was formally commissioned into the RN on 28th June.
HMS Magpie is a major upgrade on HMS Gleaner, the vessel she replaced, with a big increase in displacement from 22 tonnes to 37 tonnes. Magpie is also capable of double the speed (23 knots) and transits in rough conditions, she is fitted with a very sophisticated navigation and communications package supplied by AMBEX. Her raised bridge deck gives the helmsman and navigator a good view, enabling safe close-quarters manoeuvring.
There is accommodation for her 9 crew to sleep on board in two cabins and is fully air-conditioned throughout. Her main cabin is fitted with a small dining area which opens onto the main working module, incorporating computer racking for electronic equipment and workstations for 6 personnel. A Palfinger PK6500 crane is fitted for lifting cargo and survey equipment on to her aft deck area, which also has a small winch for deploying hydrographic sonar equipment.
Project Vahana does not include the supply of boats to replace HMS Sabre and Scimitar of the RN Gibraltar Squadron. The MoD plans to replace them in 2019 with larger, faster and more heavily armed vessels capable of 35 knots, day and night and operations in sea state 6-7. Although the MoD is looking for at least three bids, Safehaven Marine who built HMS Magpie may be in pole position, potentially utilising a derivative of their excellent Barracuda design. The Irish Navy is planning to build a large €200M Multi-Role Vessel (Possibly similar to military sealift ship HMNZS Canterbury). Giving further work to Safehaven in Ireland may encourage the Dublin government to place the MRV order in the UK.
It is still early days but the SEA Class workboat project appears to be a very cost-effective procurement that will give the RN a standardised, but very flexible fleet of small craft to serve in a wide range of roles.
Interesting in a good way 🙂
Why are the transfer boats of Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales different?
My guess is that it’s down to when the respective sets of boats were ordered.
From promotional material I saw from Alnmaritec, after the delivery of the first of QE’s personnel transfer boats, they were definitely hopeful of further orders for the rest of the fleet. Price I dare say was a prime consideration. http://www.alnmaritec.co.uk/component/zoo/item/aln-138-ptb-swordfish-hms-queen-elizabeth-carrier
Why on earth would anyone bid against safehaven when they know that the contract is as good as theirs already for political reasons?
Because it isn’t? There’s no Irish EPV tender out yet and it may not come this year due to the Air Corps Casa replacement being brought forward so at least 100 million going on that sooner than planned, so 2019-2020 I’d say. Added in the deteriorating relationship between Dublin and London, and the uncertainty of Brexit. I wouldn’t be surprised that the EPV goes to an EU 27 country
I can’t see why they would go to a british yard either, but STRN has a fairly reliable veiw of inside thinking. The UK ship building industry has destroyed it reputation for quality and it’s bound to be much cheaper somewhere else.
The Irish prime minister has indeed made some lunatic and unhelpful anti UK statements.
It’s funny how competition and procurement rules suddenly change when some dodgy swap deal can be arranged.
No, the UK Press has reported such, his statement on Open Skies has been something that most of the airlines have been saying for years now, but that’s besides the point, the view from Dublin is that it’s London that’s been “unhelpful”, to the point of being hostile.
STRN might have insight from the UK side, but as I’ve said from the Irish side, there’s no movement on the EPV. The CASA’s jumped the line and their tender process is current and so will take at least 100 million (more if we get a third for general cargo runs), EPV is still “working on it”, and with the predicted lifespan of the government running out somewhere around 2020 there’s little time for it.
How did you come to this assumption that the Uk shipbuilding industry has destroyed its reputation for quality and how it is bound to be much cheaper elsewhere. Please enlighten me.
What you talking about! The last few biggest Irish navy ships were built in the uk! The offshore patrol boats! Ireland was very happy and I’m sure they will be more built in the uk! Britain has a great ship building industry, not huge anymore but we have been building warships since warships were invented! Idiot.
To be fair that’s because they were dirt cheap, and even then we’ve now had two out of the 4 have issues due to Appledore fitting out on the seabed, one with shaft problems and the other with gear box issues.
Not sure who will get the contract for the next program, the Eithne replacement, but I’d have doubts if it’s a UK yard.
‘I see no guns’ as the late Admiral Horatio Nelson once famously exclaimed; thus continuing the RN’s current gamble that none of its ships will ever engage the enemy; let alone engage them more closely. Why?
Our cousins say of all their boats….. if it floats it fights….. and as such all these little boats must have mounts for automatic weapons as they will likely at some point be tasked with something unexpected… good point 4th. I am dismayed at the MOD position of under arming everything. Its as if weapons are unacceptable to some of the public.
Bet the Russians are s…..g themselves.
Don’t worry, the big unarmed steel box will frighten them off.
What big steel box is that?
I am equally dismayed that unarmed utility craft are being designated with the prefix HMS.
The workboats will not be prefixed HMS. Only HMS Magpie which follows a long tradition of small inshore hydrographic survey vessels serving in the Royal Navy
Retard! These boats are for light duties!
I don’t know if these boats specifically need to have any weapons on board, but a mount for optional armament, such as a GPMG, might not be a bad idea. However, I don’t think the Sea class would be a good derivative for the Gibraltar Squadron replacement. Something more like the MK VI patrol boat that we are getting for the US navy would be perfect. A relatively inexpensive, off the shelf design, but still with enough teeth to protect the QEC from suicide boat attacks when they come to port. The MK VI would also be more intimidating to Spanish OPV’s that often make incursions into Gibraltar waters, though I don’t see that ever coming to blows.
If Safehaven marine wants to sell their Barracuda design, I think that is better suited for the RGP marine force.
MK 6 PCs Inexpensive!
I have been working on the bloody things last year. They come in at around 15 mil Dollars a pop…and thats for the USN to buy. No doubt they would be more expensive for the UK.
They are the BMW of patrol boats…everything is an optional extra at a premium price.
It checks all the boxes as far as bigger, faster, and more heavily armed. And now that the RN has aircraft carriers stopping through, the last thing the MoD needs is something similar to what happened to the USS Cole or the Saudi ship off of Yemen. And I understand that the budgets are clearly different for the USN and the RN, but $15 million (£15 million for easy math if it is more expensive) per patrol boat for two replacements seems a worthy investment to protect a £3 billion carrier when she is in the narrow waters off Gib.
Edited to add that I did include the qualifier, relatively inexpensive.
I agree that barracuda design looks bad ass, with the gun automatically poping out from the front when needed! It’s fast aswell. Looks amazing. Not sure if big enough though! I wonder if there’s a slightly larger design.
They are currently building a new hull for a trans Atlantic speed record after their round Ireland record, maybe that design could be looked at to modify if there was a customer that wanted it.
Spent all the money on a giant codpiece
All told a nice bit of procurement.
Got me thinking how it’s always amusing to read the active fleet lists of other navies. Although complaints about the Royal Navies decline are still completely valid if we included every harbour tug, landing craft and the RFA into the total we’d have a naval fleet of hundreds as well!
Not many ‘workboats’ around dockyards are navy owned.
All tugs and pilot launches are are Serco.
Only RM landing craft, ORCs and IRCs, assorted training small craft, MoD Police launches and RIBs are owned by MoD. There are quite a few PAC 24s doing a variety of roles.
I’m aware Serco own and operate all of the harbour tugs and other assorted boats, but regardless of who they belong to they serve the same function as their equivalents in other navies.
When other nations choose to include every single little boat operated in support of their active fleets as part of the overall total it’s makes these services look far bigger at a cursory glance than they actually are!
Ref the boats for Britannia, It’s all well and good making these vessels highly maneuverable but the US Navy has had plenty of cases of collisions due to poor seamanship. If you train boat handling on something that spins in its own length and crab sideways, you’re only storing up problems for when the junior officers get out in the real world.
You are probably right. RN ship handling has been Excellent. Midshipmen learned ship handling in commanding the Battleship or Cruiser’s steam pinnace. Although they had plenty of hp at their command; I believe maneuvering was still difficult due to length of the keel.
Not named HMS they still carried a 2 pounder gun and sometimes more.