Intermarine to equip UK landmark polar ship

Intermarine UK won the deal worth several hundred thousand pounds from the Merseyside shipyard to fabricate more than ten tonnes of piping systems and provide combining equipment for the vessel.

“The RRS Sir David Attenborough polar ship is a massive project to be involved with and we are very pleased to bring our extensive skills, expertise and experience of fabrication of pipe systems to the job,” Inter Marine Group President, Slawomir Kalicki.

Site move

Mr Kalicki said Intermarine UK signed a 20-year lease in January to move its UK head office from Bridgend to Portland Port, a former naval base and the second largest man-made harbour in the world.

The RRS Sir David Attenborough is the company’s inaugural contract at its new site.

“We see huge potential in Portland Port as one of the best located ports in Britain. Furthermore, we see there is a strong skills base in the region and we are actively looking to employ local skilled maritime engineers,” said Mr Kalicki.

Mr Kalicki said Intermarine UK has bought a variety of new equipment for the facility including CNC machines, laser cutters and steel production machinery.

The 128 metre RRS Sir David Attenborough has been commissioned by Natural Environment Research Council NERC and when completed will be operated by British Antarctic Survey.

The ship was launched at Cammell Laird by Sir David Attenborough in July and is due to begin science expeditions in 2019.

By Anne-Marie Causer