Page 20: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2001)

New & Notable

VT Concludes Sandown Class

Vosper Thornycroft (VT) has once again, completed a successful shipbuild- ing project for the Royal Navy with the launch of the last minehunter in the

Sandown Class at its Southampton ship- yard.

HMS Shoreham, which was sponsored by Lady Perowne, wife of Admiral Sir

James Perowne, Deputy Supreme

Allied Commander Atlantic, is the 12th of these technologically-driven fiber reinforced plastic minehunters, all of which were built by VT.

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VT. which collaborated closely with the Ministry of Defence in the design of this third generation FRP minehunter, was able to design the RN class via sophisticated computer aided design techniques.

The construction of HMS Shoreham inaugurated many firsts for the yard, as the vessel was 90 percent complete at its launching and holds the designation as one of the first RN ships to be launched with its gun, a Bofors 30 mm, installed.

Equally impressive has been VT's ability to adapt during the life of the

Sandown class program. More than 1,000 modifications have been made in the vessels — taking into account changing technology.

Scheduled for delivery later this year,

HMS Shoreham measures 172 ft. (52.5 m) and has a displacement of 470 tons.

Able to cruise at a maximum speed of 14 knots, the vessel's propulsion system is comprised of two Paxman Valenta engines and two Voith-Schneider propulsors.

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VT Reaches Milestone With

New RN Survey Ships

Construction of two new 295 ft. (90 m) hydrographic and oceanographic survey ships for the Royal Navy, under the prime contractorship of Vosper

Thornycroft (VT), has taken another step forward with the initial blocks being moved to the berth in the covered

Building Dock at Appledore Ship- builders in Devon.

Appledore is constructing the vessels through a sub-contract from VT with the first vessel. HMS Echo, due for float out in early 2002; in-service will commence in Autumn 2002.

The initial production process com- menced with a 102-ton steel block from the ship's central hull being moved into the construction dock at Appledore.

Ultimately, both HMS Echo and its sis- tership HMS Enterprise will be con- structed alongside each other in the large dock facility.

The prime contract, which was placed with VT in June 2000, is worth more than $185 million, and includes the sup- port of the ships throughout their 25- year service life. Both Echo and Enter- prise will work with the Royal Navy fleet in worldwide frontline operational roles, including support of mine warfare and amphibious operations as well as the undertaking of specialist surveying tasks necessary for long-term effective- ness of the Royal Navy.

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