HMS Bulwark rejoins Royal Navy operational fleet

The Royal Navy amphibious landing ship HMS Bulwark has returned to the Royal Navy's operational fleet and is ready for any tasking worldwide. 

The ship has emerged on time and budget from an 11-month upgrade and maintenance period by Babcock in its base port of HM Naval Base Devonport, Plymouth.

The project team successfully met significant challenges, including severe adverse weather conditions, to keep the programme on schedule. This was the ship's first docking period since being formally commissioned into the Royal Navy in April 2005.

Having successfully completed three weeks of sea trials the ship has passed the formal fleet date inspection by the team judging her readiness and effectiveness to join the operational fleet.

The Commanding Officer of HMS Bulwark, Captain Alex Burton, said: "Through an open, engaging and strong partnership with Babcock Marine, HMS Bulwark has successfully met her fleet date. The docking period presented a challenging mix of complexity, time management and detailed and intricate planning.

"This has been underpinned by an overarching desire to succeed from both Babcock Marine and the ship's company of HMS Bulwark.

"Acceptance back into the fleet marks an important date for HMS Bulwark on her path towards regeneration and her future role as the fleet flagship in October this year."

The £30m refit, under an alliance between the MOD, Babcock and BAE Systems, has benefited from the application of Babcock's knowledge and experience gained on sister vessel HMS Albion, resulting in initiatives and improvements being introduced.

Closer working methods have enabled efficiency and cost-effectiveness to be maximised throughout the docking period, to deliver optimum value for money.

The 450,000-man-hour refit involved the overhaul of 1,625 items of equipment, the manufacture of 1,557 items, and the shipping of 398 tonnes of equipment on and off the ship.

215 hull valves have been removed and replaced, 93 tanks opened, cleaned and surveyed, 21 miles (34km) of electrical cable installed, and 8,000 litres of paint applied to the ship's outer hull.

HMS Bulwark now has improved aviation facilities (the flight deck has the capacity to operate two heavy-lift Chinook helicopters simultaneously) and upgrades to the floodable dock to float landing craft in and out, including full tactical night-vision capability for her landing craft and aircraft.

Extensive improvements have been made to the living quarters for the ship's 380 sailors and marines, including bunk spaces, toilets, bathrooms, recreational areas, main galley (kitchen), laundry area and dining area.

The communications equipment has been enhanced, high pressure salt water, drainage and sewage systems improved and the main propulsion system upgraded.

There were improvements to machinery and magazine spaces and IT network capability, as well as defensive weapons upgrades. The ship's outer hull was also treated with anti-fouling paint which will improve fuel efficiency and speed through the water.

The Babcock project manager, Mike Weeks, said: "A number of challenges have been addressed during the refit, including the addition of 16 alterations and additions during the project, and completion of the refit within the same time frame as Albion, despite an additional 70,000 man-hours involved.

"Successes included achievement of all key milestones, an excellent safety culture, the adoption of a single integrated plan, and efficiency improvements such as the dockside services contract arrangements, as well as an excellent partnering relationship."

HMS Bulwark is one of the Royal Navy's two assault command and control ships. It has a ship's company of 380, a quarter of whom are made up from 4 Assault Squadron Royal Marines.

Up to 200 marines can be carried in dedicated accommodation for long periods and another 500 in austere conditions for short periods. Her flight deck can accommodate two Chinook or two Merlin helicopters. A large floodable dock holds four large landing craft - with another four carried on davits on the ship's sides. 

Source

2-6 Heave! Bulwark hauls in her anchor by hand

THIS new fangled industrial age lark is all very well but sometimes you just need a bit of raw human strength.

Just ask the ship’s company of HMS Bulwark who spent more than five hours hauling in the assault ship’s anchor manually.

The 18,500-tonne ship was anchored in Weymouth Bay carrying out flying trials on her flight deck when sailors realised there was something wrong at the bow.

The buffer and his team found that the anchor simply wouldn’t budge; there was no way of lifting it using mechanical means.

“In my 24 years of service, it’s the first time I have ever witnessed this,” said Bulwark’s buffer CPO ‘George’ Hibbert. “I was reluctant to cut the chain or anchor and let it drop into the sea because they are in limited supply, so we decided to haul it in by hand power alone.”

Which is no mean feat.

The anchor weighs four tonnes (8,800lb – or about the weight of three Ford Focuses... or should that be Foci?).

And the anchor chain weighs 56 tonnes (123,000lb – or about 48 Ford Focuses... or should that be Foci?). It’s also 270 metres (885ft) long – which is 300ft longer than Bulwark herself.

The entire ship’s company was split into groups and the process began.

Working in teams of 30, they pulled the chain up a small section at a time before moving forward and repeating the process in excess of a 100 times.

Initial estimates suggested that it could take up to 24 hours to recover; however, with the combined effort and enthusiasm (that’s what it says here...) of the Bulwarks, the anchor finally lifted clear of the water in 5 hours and 20 minutes.  At not much under a metre a minute, this truly was a mammoth achievement. 

“It was an awesome achievement by the entire ship’s company, who managed to lift 270 metres of cable from 25 metres below the sea allowing us to continue with our busy trials,” said Bulwark’s CO Capt Alex Burton.

The Devonport-based ship has been conducting sea trials following an eight-month overhaul in her home port and is due to be formally accepted back into the Fleet towards the end of the month.

Bulwark back at sea

NOW this is a sight to warm the cockles of British hearts in a cold, dark winter.

Dark being particularly pertinent here, for it was in the fading light of a late January afternoon that HMS Bulwark put to sea for the first time in nearly a year.

The assault ship has undergone an eight-month overhaul in the hands of Babcock in Devonport.

In those eight months, some £32m has been spent revamping the ship’s machinery spaces,  magazines, her high voltage propulsion system, advanced communication sensors, computer and IT network, and upgrades to her defensive weapons systems.

Another significant improvement has been Bulwark’s conversion to full tactical night vision for her landing craft and helicopters; the overhaul means that she will now be able to operate two Chinooks simultaneously from her flight deck.

That’s a little while off; first several weeks of equipment and engine trials beckon in the South Coast exercise areas, as well as bringing the 300-plus-strong ship’s company up to speed after so long alongside in Devonport.

Those initial trials should be done by the end of February, after which there’s the more demanding task of turning Bulwark back into a thoroughly-honed assault ship; come the autumn she’ll take over from her older sister Albion as the nation’s amphibious flagship.

"Sailing is an immensely-important and exciting moment for HMS Bulwark, for myself as her Commanding Officer, and for her ship’s company,” said CO Capt Alex Burton.

“It marks a significant milestone achievement for all who have worked extremely hard to make today possible.”

Picture: LA(Phot) Martin Carney, FRPU West