UK Docks Marine Services has won contracts worth more than £80m to service and maintain 194 Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, Vahana workboats and Ministry of Defence police craft - all to be managed from its offices in Victoria Quay, Gosport.
Against fierce competition, the company won three of the nine lots offered in the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Boats In Service Support Contract 2026, with all three contracts due to run until 2033
The majority of the work will be carried out at UK Docks' Gosport facilities, although some will take place at UK Docks’ boatyard along the coast at UK Docks Mashfords' in Cremyll, Cornwall.
UK Docks managing director, Jonathan Wilson, said: “It is fantastic news for the company and our staff, who have been building a reputation for successfully servicing Ministry of Defence contracts for a number of years now.
UK Docks’ MD, Jonathan Wilson
“All three contracts are related to specific classes of MoD boats with specific end users and will provide a sustained demand for our workforce for at least five years, possibly seven.
“They will safeguard existing jobs, create new ones, and ensure an important part of the defence sector benefits UK businesses and organisations.”
From this April, the company will take responsibility for the smooth running of the Pac 22 and 24 fleets, as well as passenger transfer boats fitted to Royal Navy aircraft carriers.
The Pac 24 Rigid inflatable boats are workhorse vessels capable of policing, patrolling, interception and boarding and can be deployed from various Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary platforms, which will be supported globally from Gosport.
Pac 24 vessels being worked on in UK Docks' Gosport facility.
The 109 boats in total are part framework agreement running up to 2033.
The second lot sees UK Docks servicing and maintaining MoD police boats that protect the assets and infrastructure around the UK’s three major naval bases and will also run for seven years.
The vessels are the Police Patrol Craft, Island Class, and Intercept and Escort Craft, as well as other specialist craft, for a total of 49 boats.
An Island Class MoD police boat, one of 49 UK Docks will be servicing and maintaining from April 2026
Again, the vast majority of the work will be carried out at UK Docks’ facilities, in Gosport and Cremyll, both of which are opposite the two southern Naval Bases – HMNB Portsmouth and Plymouth.
At HMNB Clyde, UK Docks will continue its longstanding relationship with Holyhead Marine and a select number of other specialists to provide support in the area.
The third and final contract is to service and maintain the Ministry of Defence’s workboat fleet across the UK and overseas, ensuring the optimum availability, performance and safety of the SEA Class vessels recently introduced into service at MoD sites across the UK.
A Royal Navy Vahana workboat, one of many that will be serviced and maintained by UK Docks.
The Workboat fleet provides Royal Navy training, dive support, and minehunting capabilities for the Ministry of Defence, and UK Docks has held the contract for the past two years.
A total of 36 boats, used at centres such as Britannia Royal Naval College and RN Dive Support Units, will be covered until 2033.
Dive Support Boat Volcano is one of the many vessels being looked after by UK Docks after new contract agreements with the Royal Navy.
The lengthy contract awards are set to benefit businesses and communities mainly on the south coast at Gosport and Plymouth, as well as in the North East, where UK Docks has its headquarters.
They will directly safeguard 42 full-time jobs and create 18 more jobs both in management and in the general workforce
The news comes at the end of a lengthy tendering period during which the Ministry of Defence sought to secure the best possible provider to service and maintain key sections of its fleet of boats.
Jonathan added: “It was a testing and demanding process but it was worth it and congratulations to all involved.
“We’re very proud to be part of a marine industry that has shown that the necessary skills and expertise can be provided by a British company and British workforce, and we’re looking forward to delivering the highest standards of service and maintenance.”
UK Docks will project-manage the full support cycle across all contracts, including maintenance, repairs, upgrades, spares, obsolescence, and configuration control, to maximise vessel availability and ensure the navy can carry out its duties without disruption to its boats.
The new contract caps a positive period of growth for UK Docks, which is reopening two docks on Teesside alongside the two it currently operates, has acquired a five-acre, 82,000 square foot riverside expansion at its South Shields HQ and continues a key partnership with Norwegian company Brunvoll to supply the first thruster equipment to the Government’s Fleet Solid Support contract being delivered by Navantia UK.