24 Jul 2024

Babcock successfully completes maintenance for RRS Sir David Attenborough

Babcock has completed routine maintenance and upgrade work on the Royal Research Ship (RRS) Sir David Attenborough.

Alongside experts from the British Antarctic Survey, Babcock’s expert team has worked to ensure the vessel, one of the most advanced polar research vessels in the world, is ready to carry out its vital scientific work in the most extreme environments. 

RRS Sir David Attenborough returned to Babcock’s Rosyth site following its first Antarctic field science expedition and was supported at the site’s custom docking facility where work was carried out on the main engines, pumps and valves, as well as electrical maintenance to its fans and motors.

This is the vessel’s second visit to Rosyth. In June last year Babcock supported the upgrades to the vessel’s gas detection system, helideck netting, draft sensor vent pipework as well as assistance with planned maintenance, defect rectification and general logistics support.

In 2022 Babcock’s Rosyth site was awarded a £45 million contract to maintain the UK’s fleet of scientific research vessels including RRS Sir David Attenborough, RRS Discovery and RRS James Cook. As part of this agreement, Babcock will support NERC to review, identify and adopt technologies and solutions to reduce ship emissions. 

Paul Armstrong, CEO of Babcock’s Marine business, said: “We are proud to support RRS Sir David Attenborough and the rest of the fleet as they embark upon their hugely important scientific tasks.

“What we do matters and I’m immensely grateful to our team for their diligence, teamwork and safe delivery of these vessels back to our customer. We wish the crew a productive onward journey.”