The expertise of management and skill of the workforce at A&P Falmouth has paid off once again with the A&P Group winning a major new £15m contract by the Ministry of Defence to install high-end military capabilities in four new tankers to ensure that they are ready for operations by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

All told the new contract and existing Cluster maintenance contract is worth £50 million to the company over the next four years. As a result the A&P Group will now be maintaining 13 Royal Navy vessels in Falmouth.

The four Tide-class MARS (Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability) tankers, comprising Tidespring, Tiderace, Tidesurge and Tideforce, will enter service with the Royal Navy to boost its capabilities by delivering fuel, water, spare parts and other supplies.

The 37,000-tonne ships, costing a total of £450 million, will come into service from 2016 to replace the RFA’s single hulled tankers and will maintain the Royal Navy’s dedicated bulk fuel replenishment at sea capabilities. The tankers will support deployed amphibious, land and air forces close to the shore and will have the ability to operate helicopters.

The first of the class RFA Tidespring will arrive here in December for customisation before entering service with the Fleet, the three other ships will follow at six-month intervals. The 201 metre long tankers with a beam of nearly 29 metres displace more than 37,000 tonnes. 

The ships are being built in Korea by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering to a design provided by UK company BMT Defence Services.

In addition, UK companies will benefit from up to £150 million of associated spending on key equipment, systems, design and support services, and on the customisation and trials package which will take place in the UK once the ships have been built.

The new double-hulled tankers will be designed to meet International Maritime Organization pollution (MARPOL) regulations, an International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973 and the protocol of 1978, as well as European Commission environmental regulations.

A&P Group already has a contract to support and maintain RFA ships at home and abroad until 2018. Under the Cluster Support Progamme, A&P Group provides maintenance support to groups of MoD vessels which include RFA Argus and the RFA Bay Class vessels Mounts Bay, Cardigan Bay and Lyme Bay. 

A&P Group also has contracts with BAE Systems to support the three River Class offshore patrol vessels HMS Mersey, HMS Tyne and HMS Severn plus the two hydrographic survey vessels HMS Echo and Enterprise.

Falmouth has had a very long association with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary - refitting and repairing ships especially the old Tide Class ships.

The original Tide class Fleet Tankers served in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) from 1954 until 1991, operating worldwide in support of numerous operations and exercises. Developed using the lessons of the Pacific Campaign in World War II, these versatile ships were the first purpose-designed replenishment tankers for the RFA.