Babcock has successfully completed the flood-up process of the revalidation and assisted maintenance period (RAMP) on the UK Royal Navy’s Trafalgar-class submarine HMS Trenchant, marking the completion of the vessel’s 16-month dry dock period.
The RAMP process involves maintenance, system revalidation and capability advancements, while the achievement of flood-up leads to the completion of 70% of the overall package.
Babcock Boat manager John Pitt said: "We have worked closely with the [UK] Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Royal Navy, combining our respective areas of specialist knowledge and experience as a joint team to undertake this challenging programme of work successfully, and we are delighted to have achieved flood-up, being a significant and highly visible milestone in the project.
"We have applied and developed key project management tools to optimise schedule adherence and cost control, and will continue to work closely with the MoD and Royal Navy to deliver the RAMP successfully."
As part of the RAMP survey package, Babcock installed a new composite rudder, overhauled both port and starboard circulating water systems, and revalidated torpedo tube and pressure hull.
It also involved the refurbishment of the Sonar 2076 flank arrays, deployment of the Defence Information Infrastructure, a galley upgrade and key tank maintenance programme, as well as the implementation of internal non-destructive testing inspection methods for tail shafts.
