The first vessel, the 39.3m LOA Rapid Intervention Vessel THV Alert was delivered to Trinity House in April and is based at the operational headquarters in Harwich. The second vessel, another 84m MFT for the Northern Lighthouse Board, will be delivered in the autumn.

Galatea, which will be delivered early next year replacing the 1987 built THV Mermaid, features a helicopter launching pad and will be fitted with a range of high specification survey equipment. Also included are a 30 ton capacity crane, azimuthing propellers, two 750kW bow thrusters, and DP2 dynamic positioning.

Speaking after the ceremony, Jeremy de Halpert said, 'This is an exciting day for Trinity House and the other GLAs.

These ships are being built to the high technical standards that we all demand in order for us to complete our exacting operations around the coastline of Britain.

They will also allow us to continue to give a top class service with excellent ships at a highly competitive price, thus ensuring the ship owners continue to get the best value for money.'

MJInformation No: 22206