New floating jetty for Astute submarines arrives at naval base

(May 20, 2009) -- A new pound150m floating jetty which will be a sophisticated home for the Royal Navy's next generation of nuclear-powered submarines arrived at HM Naval Base Clyde yesterday, Tuesday 19 May 2009.

The Valiant Jetty has been five years in the planning, five years in build, and is designed to serve the Royal Navy's submarines for the next 50 years.

The jetty can accommodate any of the Royal Navy's nuclear-powered, conventionally-armed submarines but the jetty has been designed specifically with the new Astute Class in mind.

First of class, Astute, has already been launched and is scheduled to arrive at its base port on the Clyde later this year. The submarine is one of seven which are planned - they are the largest and most powerful attack submarines ever commissioned by the Royal Navy.

The jetty will be in place and fully operational in time for the arrival of the second of class, Ambush. The jetty will float up and down with the tide to provide significant operational benefits and is secured to the loch bottom by four giant piles, each one as big as Nelson's Column.

The operation to move Valiant into place was complex. Built and floated from Inchgreen dry dock in Greenock, the jetty was towed the 12 miles (19km) to Faslane by five tugs and took around six hours to complete the journey.

At 200 metres long, 28 metres wide, over 10 metres deep and 44,000 tonnes, the jetty is as long as the Navy's current aircraft carriers and more than twice the tonnage, which meant that negotiation of the Rhu Narrows into the Gareloch required careful co-ordination and temporary closure of the port to provide a safe route for the tow.

The Royal Navy's project director for Valiant, Captain Peter Merriman, also Captain of the Base at Faslane, said: "This is a big day for HM Naval Base Clyde and for the future of the Submarine Service. The Valiant Jetty is a very large and very sophisticated piece of kit which will serve the base well for many years to come.

"The Astute Class is a new generation build of submarine which will provide the Royal Navy and the United Kingdom with a very powerful and potent worldwide capability."

This is the first prime contract project awarded by Defence Estates for Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) and has been delivered in partnership with AMEC and Morgan Est.

An integrated project team of Defence Estates, Jacobs, DE&S, Royal Navy and Babcock personnel has supported AMEC, the single point of responsibility throughout the project, to ensure that the diverse work streams have achieved a finished product which will have a 50-year-long operational lifespan.

At its peak, the construction site for the jetty had over 300 locally employed people working at Inchgreen and Faslane. Andy Woodward, AMEC Project Director, said: "It is a huge credit to all of the team who have worked on the design and construction of the jetty as it has been a great engineering success."

David Gravil, Defence Estates Project Manager, said: "For a project manager, a project of this calibre will come along once in your career, if you are lucky. This, coupled with working with a fantastic team, which has shown great spirit over the past 10 years, makes me feel very fortunate indeed."

Source : Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) - click here for more information