Harland & Wolff has been awarded a £55 million contract by the Defence Equipment Sales Authority (DESA) to ‘regenerate’ a former Royal Navy mine-hunting vessel, HMS Quorn, for the Lithuanian government.
The regeneration will support 100 jobs at the company’s Appledore Yard in North Devon; it will also see an influx of contractors for the project across the local and national supply chain, with ‘14 major sub-contract packages in engineering, equipment and integration, along with other refurbishment services’.
Jeremy Quin, Minister for Defence Procurement, said: “I am pleased that this multi-million-pound contract will see a former Royal Navy mine-hunting vessel restored and regenerated in a British shipyard, supporting UK jobs and strengthening shipbuilding in the South West. Lithuania is a key NATO ally and Joint Expeditionary Force partner, and this mine-hunting vessel will bolster NATO maritime capability across Europe.”
HMS Quorn completed 27 years of service with the Royal Navy before being sold to Lithuania in April 2020. The vessel patrolled the seas as part of the Royal Navy fleet of Hunt Class Mine Countermeasures Vessels (MCMVs) until 2017. Hunt Class vessels specialise in active mine-hunting; they use high-definition sonar to scour seabeds for mines, which are then destroyed by the ship’s clearance diving teams or mine disposal system.
Tailored for the Lithuanian Navy, the work includes upgrades to the ships mission and sonar systems, and an additional search and rescue capability. The contract will also add new main engines, generators and propulsion gear as well as refurbish the accommodation, hull, ancillary systems, electrical systems and painting.
Commander Richard Whalley, head of DESA, said: “This contract award reinforces the excellent working relationship that we have with Lithuania as our NATO ally as well as with UK-owned Harland & Wolff. It is planned that the ship will be handed over to the Lithuanian Navy in 2024. HMS Quorn is the third mine-hunting vessel that DESA has sold to Lithuania, following the sale of HMS Dulverton and HMS Cottesmore in 2008.”