Sandown class minehunter HMS Grimsby left Babcock’s Rosyth dockyard on Friday (30 November) with enhanced operational capability following a successful six month Support Period (Docking) (SP(D)). This was the first Sandown class refit to be undertaken under the Surface Ship Support Alliance (SSSA) Class Output Management (COM) Phase 2 arrangements, under which Babcock leads the Sandown class COM team.
HMS Grimsby has received a number of upgrades and improvements, significantly enhancing the ship’s operational capability, sustainability and habitability standards, during the tightly scheduled support period. These include a first-of-class replacement of the entire fire detection system; an upgraded high pressure air system (extending system life and offering cost and space benefits); the Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) which provides a coherent infrastructure to enable information sharing and collaborative working across the defence sector network; the Centrix communications system; a fresh water embarkation unit (monitoring purification of shore supplied water); a package to enhance operations in hot climates; and a galley upgrade package.
These enhancements have been in addition to a substantial maintenance package, in which the vessel’s sustainability in extreme climates has been improved by an extensive renewal programme of protective coatings on the hull and weather decks, and considerable work has been undertaken to the air conditioning system, as well as removal and overhaul of the bow thruster units.
HMS Grimsby has left the Rosyth yard for sea trials before returning to the Fleet in 2013.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, December 11, 2012; Image: MoD