Deployable Containersied Engineering Support
G3 Systems has recently completed a five-year programme to enhance the Royal Navy’s Forward Support Unit (FSU) at HMS JUFAIR in Bahrian.
The FSU’s Containerised Engineering Support Facility (CESF) systems are designed to offer deployable, modular container systems that provide storage and engineering facilties to conduct Level 2 maintenance, supporting the availability of the Royal Navy’s Mine Counter Measures Vessel (MCMV) fleet.
The fleet’s role is to search the world’s seabeds for mines and lost explosives, which are then destroyed by the ship’s clearance diving teams or its SeaFox Mine Disposal System. The vessels’ sonars are capable of detecting and classifying an object the size of a football at depths of up to 1,000 metres.
While operating in British and foreign waters, the current fleet, consisting of six HUNT-class MCMV and five SANDOWN-class Mine Hunter vessels, is supported by two CESF systems designated CESF 01 and CESF 02. Each system is comprised of a set of containerised workshops, offices and stores, which can be independently powered by a single Power Generation Module (PGM). Each module is designed so that it can be rapidly deployed by either land, sea or air, and must be fully certified under the Convention for Safe Containers (CSC) and for flight by the MoD’s Joint Air Delivery Test and Evaluation Unit (JADTEU).
Each FSU CESF comprises up to 20 specialised containers, including stores, workshops, offices, combination units and power generation, with units including communications, ablutions, electrical maintenance, shipwrights workshops, small arms management, a light machine shop, refrigeration and a lifting and slinging store. The units also contain first aid and safety equipment including a first aid kit, eyewash and fire extinguishers.
The objective of the G3 Systems programme was to extend the life of the CESF systems, ensuring full legislative and regulatory compliance and enhancing the safety of the facility. Through the improvements and standardisation of CESF equipment and components, G3 Systems was able to reduce maintenance costs and improve management of the support logistics, enabling further savings to be made.
Nick Broom, G3 Systems’ Operations Director, commented “We have enjoyed a close working relationship with the RN FSU over the past five years […] The CESF systems provide a modular, deployable capability that can be adapted to a broad range of operational requirements and we look forward to working with the RN to develop their future capability through programmes such as NavyPODS.”
