According to information published by the UK government on July 18, 2022, British shipyard, Harland & Wolff, has been awarded a £55 million contract to regenerate a former Royal Navy mine-hunting vessel, HMS QUORN.
On behalf of the Lithuanian Government, the Defence Equipment Sales Authority (DESA) awarded the contract that will see HMS QUORN renovated and restored, bolstering NATO maritime capability in Europe.
Supporting ambitions to bolster British shipbuilding, laid out in the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh, the regeneration will support 100 jobs at the southwest shipyard.
The work will see an influx of contractors for the project across the local and national supply chain, with 14 major subcontract packages in engineering, equipment, and integration, along with other refurbishment services.
The Hunt-class MCMV is a 725 tons vessel specialized in active mine hunting built by Vosper Thornycroft and Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited for the Royal Navy from 1979. Of the 13 vessels built, 10 remain in service today. The Greek and Lithuanian navies each have two vessels in their fleet.
The mine countermeasure vessel is manned by a crew of 47 sailors. The weapons suite consists of a single 30mm DS30M Mark 2 gun, 2 miniguns, and 3 general-purpose machine guns.