Houlder deliver final davit to MoD
UK marine engineering consultants Houlder Ltd has announced that the 34th and final 3.5Te SWL ‘C’ type davit has been delivered to the Ministry of Defence.
Houlder’s bespoke design enables the Royal Navy Type 22 and Type 23 frigates to deploy four different military RIB variants, including the latest Pacific 24, in heavy seas up to Sea State 7. It utilises heave compensation technology to safely launch and recover RIBs while the Navy’s most versatile vessels are underway at up to twenty degrees of heel and ten degrees trim.
A large part of the davit’s success has been due to a design that allows for ease of installation and integration with the RN Frigate’s existing structure. The total weight of the arm and base is little over 4,400kg and its footprint is 5,600mm by 1945mm. It is mounted on a stand alone base that can be installed on open main and upper deck locations.
PJ Engineering Products fabricated all 34 davits in two batches at its base in Tyne & Wear. The first twenty eight are already installed on operational warships, leaving Houlder to set to work and sea trial six more installations (two per ship) throughout 2010. These are on HMS Argyll (T23 frigate), HMS Cornwall and HMS Campbeltown (T22 frigates).
‘As well as military standards the davit is designed in line with more general codes and standards. These include the LR EMEA Code for Lifting Appliances in a Marine Environment and BR 3027 Manual of Safe Uses, Examination and Testing of Lifting Plant. Houlder is confident this makes it easily adaptable for non-military and commercial applications’, said Houlder’s Mike Carter.
‘The contract with Ministry of Defence, initially awarded in 2005 and extended last year, is the latest example of a successful partnership between Houlder and its chosen fabricators.’
Houlder Defence is an approved Participant Supplier to the UK Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary through the Ministry of Defence Framework Agreement for Technical Support.
