The Point-class sealift ships are the result of the Strategic Defence Review and are designed by Houlder Ltd for the strategic transport of military cargoes and vehicles in times of need. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has purchased a 22-year charter from Foreland Shipping (previously named AWSR Shipping), who own, operate and crew the ships, utilising them as merchant vessels when they are not required for military service. The small British crews are provided by Foreland Shipping and are required to be sponsored reserves as a condition of service, which means they can be called up to become part of the Armed Forces in times of crisis. The benefits of this is that it guarantees crews in times of crisis, it means crew members can be expected to work under the Armed Forces Act 2006 rather than the Merchant Navy Code of Conduct, and that they would be classed as combatants and be afforded the rights granted under the Geneva Convention.
MV Hartland Point carrying military equipment during the Royal Navy exercise Cougar 12.
Of the six ships, MV Longstone and Beachy Head were on charter to the civilian company Transfennica operating a RoRo cargo ferry service in the Baltic Sea, connecting Hanko in Finland and Lübeck in Germany. Most recently they have been operating on the Immingham to Cuxhaven route for DFDS. Other ships have also been involved in commercial activity with other companies and other militaries. All ships are available to the MoD at very short notice if required. The first four ships have been kept almost constantly busy on MoD duties since the build-up to the Iraq invasion in 2003, but MV Longstone and Beachy Head have seen little MoD service and were sold in 2013 as a result of budget cuts.
MV Hartland Point was part of the COUGAR 12 deployment under the Commander Amphibious Task Group and also active in operations off the Cornish coast in 2012.[3][4] MV Hurst Point made a port call at Gibraltar in August 2013 and was part of the next year's COUGAR 13 deployment.[5][6]Hartland Point recently worked with the Royal Navy and French Navy on Operation Corsica Lion 2015.[7] MV Hurst Point has been used to replenish the Falkland Islands garrison.[8]
PFI status
According to a Defence Select Committee report, "Four of the Ro-Ro ships are permanently contracted to the MoD with the other two at notice for MoD tasking. For the two ships at notice, one can be accessed in 20 days and the other in 30 days."[9]
In the Autumn 2011, it was stated that the two ships at short notice would be released from the PFI, leaving four ships available for use by the MoD.[10] The ships released were the MV Beachy Head and the MV Longstone, and the RMT union was informed that these vessels would be laid up or sold.[11]
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United Kingdom Strategic Sealift (Roll-On Roll-Off Vessels) (globalsecurity.org)
December 28, 2022
point, class, sealift, ship, united, states, coast, guard, vessels, point, class, cutter, point, class, class, roll, roll, sealift, ships, originally, procured, under, private, finance, initiative, available, naval, auxiliaries, british, armed, forces, ships, . For the United States Coast Guard vessels see Point class cutter The Point class is a class of six roll on roll off sealift ships originally procured under a Private Finance Initiative to be available for use as naval auxiliaries to the British armed forces Two of the ships have now been released from the contract leaving four available for service with the military MV LongstoneClass overviewNamePoint classBuildersFlensburger Schiffbau 4 ships Harland amp Wolff Belfast 2 ships OperatorsForeland Shipping Ltd formerly AWSR Ltd In service2002 presentCompleted6Active4 under contract with the MoDGeneral characteristicsTypeRoll on roll offTonnage14 200 DWTDisplacement23 000 tonnes full load 1 Length193 0 m 633 ft 2 in 1 Beam26 0 m 85 ft 4 in 1 Draught7 6 m 24 ft 11 in 1 Propulsion2 MaK 94M43 diesel engines 21 700 hp 16 182 kW 2 propellers Bow thrusterSpeed21 5 kn 39 8 km h 24 7 mph Range17 000 km 9 200 nmi Capacity2 650 linear metres of space for vehicles 130 armoured vehicles and 60 trucks and ammunition or 8 000 tonnes of vehiclesCrew18 22Sensors and processing systemsI band navigation radarAviation facilitiesCan carry up to four helicopters including Chinook Apache Merlin and Wildcat NotesSourced from Jane s Fighting Ships 2008 2009 p 876 Contents 1 Background 1 1 Operational history 2 PFI status 3 Ships in the class 4 References 5 External linksBackground EditFurther information Strategic Defence Review The Point class sealift ships are the result of the Strategic Defence Review and are designed by Houlder Ltd for the strategic transport of military cargoes and vehicles in times of need The UK Ministry of Defence MoD has purchased a 22 year charter from Foreland Shipping previously named AWSR Shipping who own operate and crew the ships utilising them as merchant vessels when they are not required for military service The small British crews are provided by Foreland Shipping and are required to be sponsored reserves as a condition of service which means they can be called up to become part of the Armed Forces in times of crisis The benefits of this is that it guarantees crews in times of crisis it means crew members can be expected to work under the Armed Forces Act 2006 rather than the Merchant Navy Code of Conduct and that they would be classed as combatants and be afforded the rights granted under the Geneva Convention MV Hartland Point carrying military equipment during the Royal Navy exercise Cougar 12 Of the six ships MV Longstone and Beachy Head were on charter to the civilian company Transfennica operating a RoRo cargo ferry service in the Baltic Sea connecting Hanko in Finland and Lubeck in Germany Most recently they have been operating on the Immingham to Cuxhaven route for DFDS Other ships have also been involved in commercial activity with other companies and other militaries All ships are available to the MoD at very short notice if required The first four ships have been kept almost constantly busy on MoD duties since the build up to the Iraq invasion in 2003 but MV Longstone and Beachy Head have seen little MoD service and were sold in 2013 as a result of budget cuts Four ships were built by the German company Flensburger Schiffbau Gesellschaft the balance being built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast All are named for British points and headlands They replaced the Royal Fleet Auxiliaries Sea Centurion and Sea Crusader in service Anvil Point was the last ship built by the Harland and Wolff yard 2 Operational history Edit MV Hartland Point was part of the COUGAR 12 deployment under the Commander Amphibious Task Group and also active in operations off the Cornish coast in 2012 3 4 MV Hurst Point made a port call at Gibraltar in August 2013 and was part of the next year s COUGAR 13 deployment 5 6 Hartland Point recently worked with the Royal Navy and French Navy on Operation Corsica Lion 2015 7 MV Hurst Point has been used to replenish the Falkland Islands garrison 8 PFI status EditAccording to a Defence Select Committee report Four of the Ro Ro ships are permanently contracted to the MoD with the other two at notice for MoD tasking For the two ships at notice one can be accessed in 20 days and the other in 30 days 9 In the Autumn 2011 it was stated that the two ships at short notice would be released from the PFI leaving four ships available for use by the MoD 10 The ships released were the MV Beachy Head and the MV Longstone and the RMT union was informed that these vessels would be laid up or sold 11 Ships in the class EditName Builder CommissionedMV Hurst Point Flensburger Schiffbau 12 16 August 2002 12 MV Hartland Point Harland amp Wolff Belfast 12 11 December 2002 12 MV Eddystone Flensburger Schiffbau 12 28 November 2002 12 MV Anvil Point Harland amp Wolff Belfast 12 17 January 2003 12 MV Longstone no longer available to the MoD Flensburger Schiffbau 12 24 April 2003 12 MV Beachy Head no longer available to the MoD Flensburger Schiffbau 12 17 April 2003 12 References Edit a b c d The Royal Navy Handbook 2003 Ministry of Defence p 104 Campbell John 22 July 2019 Growing concerns for Harland and Wolff Belfast shipyard BBC BBC Northern Ireland Retrieved 29 July 2019 All action show from task group off Cornish coast Royal Navy Archived from the original on 2014 02 02 Retrieved 2013 08 12 Navy Roars into the Med for Key 2012 Deployment Royal Navy Archived from the original on 2014 02 02 Retrieved 2013 08 12 Port Visits seawaves com Archived from the original on 2011 07 16 Retrieved 2011 02 23 Navy Military Exercises 5 Sep 2013 Hansard Written Answers TheyWorkForYou theyworkforyou com Retrieved 9 August 2016 Corsican evacuation tests Anglo French Task Group Royal Navy mod uk Retrieved 9 August 2016 johnt 15 February 2016 Everything You Need To Know About British Forces In The Falklands forces tv Retrieved 9 August 2016 Strategic Lift PDF House of Commons Defence Committee 26 June 2007 Retrieved 31 December 2018 Shipping 6 Nov 2013 Hansard Written Answers TheyWorkForYou theyworkforyou com Retrieved 9 August 2016 Todd Steve Shipping News RMT News July August 2013 p 26 Retrieved 2 June 2014 a b c d e f g h i j k l Jane s Fighting Ships 2004 2005 Jane s Information Group Limited p 819 ISBN 0 7106 2623 1 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Point class sealift ship United Kingdom Strategic Sealift Roll On Roll Off Vessels globalsecurity org Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Point class sealift ship amp oldid 1105481042, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
