Basing and Support

The current Invincible class carriers are home based at HM Naval Base Portsmouth.  Their refits are normally undertaken by Rosyth Royal Dockyard (operated by Babcock Rosyth Defence Ltd).  Due to their small size there are also numerous other ship repair yards around the UK that can undertake refit work on them.

In comparison, the large size of the CVF carriers is a major problem and issue.  With the proposed specification of at least 55,000 tonnes displacement and a length of around 900ft, it will be difficult for them to routinely and safely enter and berth at either of the RN's main two naval bases, Portsmouth Naval Base and Devonport Naval Base.  Also, there is no suitable dry dock for a CVF at either base, the No.10 Dock at Devonport being restricted to ships of about 40,000 tonnes and 850 ft length, while the biggest two docks (C and D) at Portsmouth are slightly smaller (850 ft/259 m long with a 33m beam, and 840ft/256 m long respectively).  Lengthening of any of these docks, or the construction of a new dry dock, would be a major and expensive exercise.  

Portsmouth
On 2 July 2002 it was announced that the new carriers will also be based at Portsmouth.  As part of a then just completed major redevelopment, Portsmouth had got long new jetty's suitable for berthing CVF's.  However there are problems, it was admitted that if the new carriers exceed 45,000 tonnes - as is planned - then they will have problems entering or exiting the base except on unusually big high tides, also Portsmouth has a narrow entrance channel and the two carrier could not pass each other.  Admiral Sir Alan West, then First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, said that dredging would be needed to get the new carriers into their home base of Portsmouth. 

In July 2003 a massive scheme to enhance Portsmouth Naval Base to take the CVF's was announced.  The plan, likely to eventually cost between £150 million and £200 million, will ease access and support for the new aircraft carriers, as well as the new Type 45 destroyers planned to enter service before 2009.

Jetty refurbishment, which began in 2004, will involve the rebuilding of two jetties – South Railway and Fountain Lake – and the possible upgrading of others.

Considerable work has already been carried out on surveying a potential route into harbour for the new flat-tops – the existing main channel is neither deep enough nor wide enough to allow safe passage of the CVF.   An estimated four million cubic metres (141,258,667 cubic feet) of material will have to be scooped out of the channel and also in the harbour itself.  The proposed dredging operation is subject to the results of an Environmental Impact Assessment being conducted the consultants Royal Haskoning.  Complex hydrodynamic models will also be created to see what impact the dredging might have on the flow of water.  The final survey will be made available for public consultation once completed.

Other projected new facilities include a carrier mooring off Stokes Bay; an upgrade of Naval Base infrastructure, including buildings, car-parking and roads; and improved access into the base’s largest basin – No. 3.

 A report in Navy News of June 2006 stated that more than £60 million still needed to be spent on infrastructure in Portsmouth Naval Base to accommodate the 65,000 tonnes CVF's.  Unfortunately its far from certain this will ever be spent.  As the result of the cuts in the size of Royal Navy, and with more speculated about by newspapers, Portsmouth and Devonport Naval Bases have both become seriously under-utilised.  In late 2006 it was announced that a review of the RN infrastructure requirements was underway, and rumours in early 2007 indicated that Portsmouth is likely to close.

The government confirmed in July 2007 that Portsmouth Naval Base will remain open, and reconfirmed that the two new carriers will be based there.

Alternatives

CVF basing options were revisited in 2006 and early 2007 as part of a naval base review, and the  possible closure of HMNB Portsmouth. HMNB Devonport was a possible candidate, but there were considerable concerns over the navigation of the approach and exit to the base for such large ships.   The most serious possibilities became Faslane, or basing the ships at Rosyth dockyard, re-opening a naval base their that closed in 1994.

In March 2002 BAE Systems established a tie-up up with Babcock Engineering Services, whose Babcock Rosyth company owns and operate Rosyth Royal Dockyard.  In April 2002, Murray Easton, who heads Babcock Rosyth, said the MoD was considering the yard - which already refits the navy's Invincible class carriers - as an assembly and maintenance site for the CVF's.  Importantly Rosyth is adjacent to Royal Naval Armaments Depot Crombie - the only suitable deep-water berth in the UK for rearming a large warship. It also has HMS Caledonia to support naval personnel and their families.  Rosyth has a deep-water access channel, basin and berthing, but the 36ft low water depth will probably be inadequate for the new carriers and some dredging will be required.  It has excellent access to the sea, and the Forth is not congested with a large volume of commercial shipping and leisure craft that are the bane of large warships in restricted waters.  However  the No. 1 dock at Rosyth is currently too narrow for CVF, and an investment in in the tens of millions of pounds is required to make it suitable.   In December 2005, the MOD confirmed that Rosyth will indeed assemble the two CVF's.

It's also been suggested by Rand that the MOD should seriously think about the long term advantages of providing a dry dock at the carriers homeport, an expensive exercise at Portsmouth, but would be to hand at Rosyth.

While it should eventually be possible to berth two CVFs in Portsmouth (or Rosyth) simultaneously, for military reasons this may not be desirable.  Options are therefore being considered to make use of an occasional stand-by berth for the high-readiness CVF that's not subject to the arrival and departure restrictions associated with Portsmouth Naval Base.  Further work on the design, operating patterns and manning are needed before a final decision can be made, although initial indications show that Southampton could provide such a facility if required.  The use of the civilian port facilities at Southampton raises additional questions about port security and access to Dockyard Fire Brigade assets which will probably cost of tens of millions of pounds to resolve.  However, Southampton is only 20 miles by road from the Portsmouth Naval Base and other RN facilities in the Portsmouth area, and it's only a few hours sailing from the Plymouth exercise areas.  Southampton also has the massive "King George V" Dock owned by A&P Group which is 1200 ft long (365 m, with a 40.3 m beam). 

Since the loss of the former Cammell Laird 978 ft long (298 x 42.6 m) No. 5 drydock at Birkenhead to developers in December 2004, there are only two or three other UK dry docks able to accommodate ships of about 280 metres length.  At Rosyth there is the 1017 ft (310 x 31.4 m) No. 1 Dock operated by Babcock Rosyth (and the likely site of CVF assembly).  In Northern Ireland their is the massive 1100 ft (335 x 50.3 m) Belfast Dry Dock operated by Harland and Wolff Group - this had a difficult few years but recently (as of early 2007) it has again become an active ship repair facility.  In Scotland there is also the 1000 ft (305 x 47 m) Inchgreen drydock on the Clyde, now owned by AMEC, but this has rarely been in operation in recent years. 

A computer image showing the modified dockyard at Rosyth, with one CVF in No.1 dry dock and the other alongside the quay wall.  The CVFs shown are of the old BAE Systems CTOL design.   (Source: Babcock International Group)

The French Marine Nationale will base its new carrier (which will be based on the CVF design) at the Toulon Naval Base.  It is fortunate enough to have there two huge dry docks which are able to accommodate even a Nimitz class aircraft carrier.  These would almost certainly be available to the UK if required.

Supporting CVF

It is currently envisaged that the final support solution for CVF will be of a “mixed economy” nature, where responsibility for support and delivering availability is shared between various industry support providers and the MoD.  A range of options with different levels of availability risk transfer to industry will be explored and compared for value for money against current approaches before any decision is taken.

The CVF's will be fitted and use many new support and logistics systems such as an Aircraft Support Chain Management Information System (ASCMIS) which can be automatically linked to UK and NATO Stockholding and Asset Requirements Exchange (SHARE) systems.  In near real-time the command, naval bases, RFA supply ships, contractors, logistics providers and Prime Support Contractors can (as appropriate) be made aware of faults and problems with equipment and systems, or stores requirements, and spares, replacements, fixes etc. can thus be rapidly organised and their delivery scheduled.

According to early issues of the the User Requirements Document, CVF- 1 (HMS Queen Elizabeth) is to join the fleet in October 2012 and CVF-2 (HMS Prince of Wales) in August 2015 - although by 2005 a one to year slippage was widely anticipated.  The MoD wants at least a six-year interval between CVF dockings, and a maximum upkeep period of no more than six months.  During ‘ordinary’ years, each CVF will spend 46 of 52 weeks in operation.  However, every six years, each CVF will be in a heavier maintenance cycle (including, under current plans, a dry-docking for some weeks) for half the year.  Based on the original ISD dates, CVF-1’s dry-dock years are to be 2018, 2024, 2030, and 2036; CVF-2’s are 2021, 2027, 2033, and 2039.   As only a few weeks will be spent in dry dock, the drydock facility will need to find other sources of work, and also the MOD will want to avoid paying greatly inflated monopolistic prices for the rare dockings.

In order to allow major work to be carried during such a short refit period - and when essential outside it -  the new carriers will be highly modularised.  Repairs and upgrades will generally be done by replacement (although it has been pointed out that repair in-situ sometimes often be cheaper) and the design is being developed reflecting this approach, for example the big MT30 gas turbines are being placed high in the hull, directly under each island, ensuring easy access routes to allow their removal and replacement with just a few days of work.  It is thus hoped that many maintenance activities will be possible while alongside in Portsmouth, and without requiring dry-docking.

In December 2005 it was announced that the Aircraft Carrier Alliance had been tasked to assemble a single, integrated-capability sustainment plan to ensure a seamless transition between the retirement of the RN's two remaining Invincible-class carriers and the entry into service of the replacement CVF vessels.  Secretary of State for Defence Dr John Reid said "By getting the same people to commit to maintain the existing carriers until the new ones are ready to go we will ensure there is a continuity of capability for the Royal Navy."

Director General Logistics (Fleet) (Rear Admiral Paul Boissier in November 2006) is currently developing a CVF Support Business Case which is due to be completed by June 2008.

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