@article{Vessels:11076,
      recid = {11076},
      author = {Richardson, P and Chance, R},
      title = {Giving Ex-RN Vessels a New Lease of Life},
      journal = {Conference Proceedings of EAAW},
      address = {2023-11-28},
      abstract = {When a naval ship is no longer required for active service  with the Royal Navy a considerable amount of engineering  activity is required to achieve a successful  decommissioning date. The groundwork ensures the materiel  condition of the platform is maintained to prevent the  degradation of equipment availability in the lead up to out  of service date.

This decommissioning date however, is  increasingly seen as not being the end of the operational  life of the platforms. There are several notable recent  examples of the sale of RN assets including the Brazilian  purchase of HMS Ocean and the handover of the two Royal  Navy Sandown class platforms to the Ukrainian Navy.

This  paper considers the preparation prior to decommissioning,  support during the transfer of title and transition to new  ownership and the sale support activities which take place  in the longer term.

Engineering aspects covered are:
- The  management and configuration of big data, specifically how  this can be managed for a decommissioning platform to  inform engineering decision making and identifying any  sensitivities for future sales.
- The scenario of a  protracted period between decommissioning and future sale  may result in the requirement for equipment removals to  support the remaining platforms or the introduction of  emergent technology entering the market. As these  capability upgrades may be requested by future owners this  paper also covers how to successfully integrate them within  the available design margins to ensure supportability and  maintainability targets are achieved.
- With any aging  legacy platform reaching a decommissioning date equipment  obsolescence is likely to be a key challenge. How this is  managed throughout this period is discussed.
- Any  disruption on maintenance activity during decommissioning  will have a detrimental impact on equipment reliability. To  ensure smooth transition the ongoing management of  maintenance and logistics activities are reviewed.

With a  potential global market for decommissioned naval platforms,  the activities listed above need to be tailored to meet the  needs of the customer knowledge base, in-county supplier  network and support philosophies compared with UK practice.  In addition, there is likely to be differences in the  stakeholder network, design authority responsibilities and  toolsets.

These topics are explored from a perspective of  an industry participant being directly involved undertaking  these engineering decommissioning and future sale support  activities, together with the ongoing support for the new  owner. The paper provides a balanced view from this lived  experience throughout this route to transfer and beyond,  highlighting the positive experiences alongside how the  emergent challenges are overcome. It is hoped that the  information provided by this paper will provide guidance  for future stakeholders who will contribute to the  decommissioning of future Royal Navy platforms.},
      url = {http://library.imarest.org/record/11076},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.24868/11076},
}