Griffon Hoverwork is pleased to have been announced as the winner of a 6 ½ year Ministry of Defence contract to support watercraft used by the Royal Marines.

The MOD's Boats In-Service Support contract covers support for more than 2,200 craft in 110 different classes, within which Griffon has been contracted to support all boats based at Royal Marines Tamar in Devonport. The craft in this contract include the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), Offshore Raiding Craft (ORC), Personal Watercraft (PWC) and Pacific 24 Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIB).

The Royal Marines are one of the most specialised and elite amphibious forces in the world. Therefore, the craft they use must be fully up to the task of supporting and delivering these forces wherever they are needed.

In order to ensure that the capability of the Royal Marines is sustained all year-round, out-of-hours and on-site support has been accommodated through the provision of Griffon's new Service Support mobile van and a dedicated internal support team.

As part of the contract Griffon will be providing Class Lead for the ORC and Landing Craft Air Cushion (Light) 2400TD hovercraft. The high-speed ORC, which most of the maintenance will involve, are used for multiple roles including the deployment and extraction of troops, patrolling, peace keeping, raid and strike. The LCAC(L) are hovercraft built by Griffon in 2010 as an upgrade to the Royal Marines fleet of 2000TD craft that had been in operation previously, notably seeing action during the 2003 Iraq war.

Although maintenance will be based on a planned, calendar-based work schedule, it will also include unplanned work in response to faults or operational damage arising from the nature of Royal Marine life-saving operations, often in extreme and austere environments around the globe. Other deliverables include the supply of additional craft materials and equipment, alongside post design services for the Class Lead craft to ensure through-life capability.

Over the past decade, Griffon has continued to strengthen its boat building alongside research and development for lightweight, high-speed craft. The award of this contract is the most recent major milestone demonstrating Griffon's boat building specialities, while supporting its longstanding customer, the Royal Marines.

With the first craft delivered, work has begun in Southampton. Commenting on the contract Managing Director, Adrian Went, said: "providing value and quality to the UK MOD is a fundamental part of our market strength and supporting the Royal Marines, as one of world's most effective operators of our equipment, is always a privilege. It is excellent to be delivering this pivotal contract and support those saving and protecting lives ".