Birkenhead-based Cammell Laird (www.clbh.co.uk), a shipyard and marine engineering services specialist, helped to launch plans earlierthis month for a £150 million disaster relief ship that it has co-designed.

Britannia Maritime Aid (BMA) wants the vessel to be built in the UK and equipped with innovative British technology.

It will be permanently based in the Caribbean, tasked with supporting disaster relief efforts and providing specialist training.

The ship will provide training berths for the next generation of UK and Commonwealth officer cadets, rating apprentices and trainees in trades associated with aid and reconstruction.

Its crew will focus on the environment and ocean advocacy — including beach and coast clean-ups, plastic collection and research.

BMA chairman Kevin Slade said: “BMA has launched a crowd-funding campaign to finance the detailed business plan required for the next stage — obtaining the necessary funding to progress from concept to reality.”

The ship will have a training centre, landing craft, helicopters, drones, rough-terrain vehicles, workshops, onboard medical facilities and full-mission bridge and engine simulators for trainees.

It will be able to carry up to 6,000 tonnes of vehicles and supplies — more than 10-times the capacity of current vessels — including field hospitals, field kitchens, tents, fresh water and fuel for devastated areas.