Royal Navy mine-hunter undergoing refit by Babcock

A Royal Navy Sandown-class mine hunter is about to begin a six-month refit program by Babcock at a dockyard in Scotland, the company reports.

Refitting of HMS Ramsey will include 22 upgrades and improvements, including replacement of power generation equipment and installation of new communications capability designed by the Sandown-Class Output Management team.

Maintenance work will include new paint coating and deck covering and a complete hull blast and re-coat. Slow speed drive alignment checks will be performed as well as a complete overhaul of the ship's boat crane and the reverse osmosis plant, and planned maintenance and defect rectification.

"This is the fifth Sandown-class support period to be carried out by the Babcock-led COM under the SSSA COM arrangements," said Babcock Warships Managing Director Mike Whalley. "Drawing on our experience and knowledge gained from previous successful MCMV refits we look forward to delivering HMS Ramsey with maximum efficiency, on schedule, and to quality and budget."

Company work on the ship comes under the Ship Support Alliance, an arrangement between Britain's Ministry of Defense, Babcock and BAE Systems.