BMT secures multi-vessel design order for UK MOD Police

BMT has announced its partnership with Marine Specialised Technology (MST) to provide the UK Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) with 18 state-of-the-art, high performance patrol vessels for operation across the UK.

The BMT design is 15 metres in length and powered by twin inboard diesel propulsion engines, driving twin waterjets. Designed to reduce fuel consumption, the company says the vessels will offer reduced fuel consumption as well as improved operational efficiency.

The new, and more environmentally friendly, design which is capable of 30 knots, has been selected by the UK MOD Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) organisation to be operated by the UK MDP. The 18 new high-speed patrol vessels are capable, BMT says, of operating in the most demanding of conditions and will replace the current police vessels currently being operated at naval bases across the UK.

The partnership between BMT and MST already has two larger BMT-designed patrol craft in build for the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron.

“We are delighted to be partnering with MST on another prestigious project supplying our UK Defence Forces,” says Martin Bissuel, business sector lead for government and security at BMT.

“This multi-vessel contract is a great reflection of the way our highly-experienced teams can combine expertise to produce an optimal design, as well as a tailored ILS package. The 15m vessels will be valuable in providing the MoD Police Force with an upgrade in capability to persistently patrol in littoral areas for the purpose of force protection of critical national infrastructure, covering high value assets across the United Kingdom and its naval bases.

“The 15m Patrol Boat Design is part of BMT’s extensive range of proven in-service patrol boats for the demanding defence and security sectors in the UK and overseas. This additional order from MST underscores our agility in producing carefully tailored designs that suit each individual operator’s particular requirements.”