The preliminary contract option is for 45 ORCs to be supplied to the Royal Marines, replacing their existing glass fibre Rigid Raider Mk3 as their principal military raiding craft.

The aluminium hull construction of the ORC and its large 620mm by 220mm foam-elastomer collar make it a much more rugged vessel than its predecessor, with the hull able to withstand significant impacts before repair is required.

Given design parameters to keep ORC hull weight to an absolute minimum whilst providing fendering offering impact absorbency and longevity, Hippo Marine made use of a low density closed cell polyethylene foam and a high performance polyurethane elastomer to meet project requirements. The fendering is bonded to the ORC's hull using a structural adhesive as another way of saving weight compared with mechanical fixing systems typically used in the past.

Nick Colin York, general manager at Holyhead Marine said, 'Throughout the design, construction and evaluation phases of this project, Hippo Marine have proven themselves to be very capable technically as well as extremely responsive to our needs and those of our client in terms of post-delivery support in particular.'

MJ Information No: 21315