Point-class sealift ship

Last updated
Mv longstone.jpg
MV Longstone
Class overview
NamePoint class
Builders
OperatorsForeland Shipping Ltd (formerly AWSR Ltd)
In service2002–present
Completed6
Active4 under contract with the MoD
General characteristics
Type Roll-on/roll-off
Tonnage14,200  DWT
Displacement23,000 tonnes full load [1]
Length193.0 m (633 ft 2 in) [1]
Beam26.0 m (85 ft 4 in) [1]
Draught7.6 m (24 ft 11 in) [1]
Propulsion
  • 2 × MaK 94M43 diesel engines; 21,700  hp (16,182 kW)
  • 2 propellers
  • Bow thruster
Speed21.5 kn (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph)
Range17,000  km (9,200 nmi)
Capacity
  • 2,650 linear metres of space for vehicles
  • 130 armoured vehicles and 60 trucks and ammunition or 8,000 tonnes of vehicles
Crew18–22
Sensors and
processing systems
I-band navigation radar
Aviation facilitiesCan carry up to four helicopters including Chinook, Apache, Merlin and Wildcat.
NotesSourced from Jane's Fighting Ships 2008–2009, p. 876

The Point class is a class of six roll-on/roll-off sealift ships originally procured under a Private Finance Initiative to be available for use as naval auxiliaries to the British armed forces. Two of the ships have now been released from the contract, leaving four available for service with the military.

Contents

Background

The Point-class sealift ships are the result of the Strategic Defence Review and are designed by Houlder Ltd for the strategic transport of military cargoes and vehicles in times of need. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has purchased a 22-year charter from Foreland Shipping (previously named AWSR Shipping), who own, operate and crew the ships, utilising them as merchant vessels when they are not required for military service. The small British crews are provided by Foreland Shipping and are required to be sponsored reserves as a condition of service, which means they can be called up to become part of the Armed Forces in times of crisis. The benefits of this is that it guarantees crews in times of crisis, it means crew members can be expected to work under the Armed Forces Act 2006 rather than the Merchant Navy Code of Conduct, and that they would be classed as combatants and be afforded the rights granted under the Geneva Convention.

Anvil Point at Marchwood Military Port Anvil Point, Marchwood.jpg
Anvil Point at Marchwood Military Port

Four ships were built by the German company Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, the balance being built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast. All are named for British points and headlands. They replaced the Royal Fleet Auxiliaries Sea Centurion and Sea Crusader in service. Anvil Point was the last ship built by the Harland and Wolff yard. [2]

Of the six ships, MV Longstone and Beachy Head were on charter to the civilian company Transfennica operating a RoRo cargo ferry service in the Baltic Sea, connecting Hanko in Finland and Lübeck in Germany. Most recently they have been operating on the Immingham to Cuxhaven route for DFDS. Other ships have also been involved in commercial activity with other companies and other militaries. All ships are available to the MoD at very short notice if required. The first four ships have been kept almost constantly busy on MoD duties since the build-up to the Iraq invasion in 2003, but MV Longstone and Beachy Head have seen little MoD service and were sold in 2013 as a result of budget cuts.

Operational history

MV Hartland Point carrying military equipment during Cougar 12 Merchant Vessel Hartland Point Carrying Military Equipment During Cougar 12 MOD 45154449.jpg
MV Hartland Point carrying military equipment during Cougar 12

MV Hartland Point was part of the COUGAR 12 deployment under the Commander Amphibious Task Group and also active in operations off the Cornish coast in 2012. [3] [4] MV Hurst Point made a port call at Gibraltar in August 2013 and was part of the next year's COUGAR 13 deployment. [5] [6] Hartland Point recently worked with the Royal Navy and French Navy on Operation Corsica Lion 2015. [7] MV Hurst Point has been used to replenish the Falkland Islands garrison. [8] As of 2021, a Point-class vessel was reported to call at the British military port in the islands (Mare Harbour) about once every six weeks. [9]

PFI status

According to a Defence Select Committee report released in 2007, "Four of the Ro-Ro ships are permanently contracted to the MoD with the other two at notice for MoD tasking. For the two ships at notice, one can be accessed in 20 days and the other in 30 days." [10]

In the Autumn 2011, it was stated that the two ships at short notice would be released from the PFI, leaving four ships available for use by the MoD. [11] The ships released were the MV Beachy Head and the MV Longstone, and the RMT union was informed that these vessels would be laid up or sold. [12] As of 2023, the former Longstone had been renamed New Amsterdam and was sailing as a Netherlands-flagged vessel, [13] while former Beachy Head had been renamed Williamsborg and was sailing under the Maltese flag. [14]

The contract for the Ministry of Defence to use the remaining vessels expires in 2024. In October 2021 the MoD issued a Request for Information (RFI) for an “interim” Strategic Sealift capability to begin in January 2025. This interim capability could see the MoD continue with the current vessels until the end of the decade or it may involve another commercial option. As mid-2023, no decision had yet been taken on whether or how the current vessels may be replaced. [15]

Ships in the class

NameBuilderCommissioned
MV Hurst Point Flensburger Schiffbau [16] 16 August 2002 [16]
MV Hartland Point Harland & Wolff, Belfast [16] 11 December 2002 [16]
MV EddystoneFlensburger Schiffbau [16] 28 November 2002 [16]
MV Anvil PointHarland & Wolff, Belfast [16] 17 January 2003 [16]
MV Longstone (no longer available to the MoD)Flensburger Schiffbau [16] 24 April 2003 [16]
MV Beachy Head (no longer available to the MoD)Flensburger Schiffbau [16] 17 April 2003 [16]

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