All four Point class roll-on roll-off vessels are scheduled for an extensive refit under the Strategic Sealift Interim contract, with Eddystone and Hartland Point dry docking this year and Hurst Point and Anvil Point following in 2027, according to an answer given in Parliament.
Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative member for Huntingdon, asked the Secretary of State for Defence what the planned schedule is for the refit of the Point class vessels Hurst Point, Hartland Point and Anvil Point under the Strategic Sealift Interim contract.
Luke Pollard said: “All 4 Point-class vessels are scheduled an extensive refit under the Strategic Sealift Interim contract. The planned schedule for RoRo refits are phased to maintain the strategic sealift capability required to support Defence operations. Timings remain subject to operational requirements, shipyard availability and the condition of each vessel when work begins.
“Hurst Point is scheduled to dry dock in Q3 2027.
“Hartland Point dry docked this year, 2026 – in Q3.
“Anvil Point is scheduled to dry dock in Q2 2027.
“Eddystone dry docked this year, 2026 – in Q2.”
The Point class are the ships that move the British Army, carrying vehicles, containers and ammunition by sea on the scale a deployed brigade needs. Six were built in Germany and Britain in the early 2000s under a private finance initiative with Foreland Shipping, four of which remain in the arrangement, and they have carried British equipment to Iraq, Afghanistan, Estonia and the Gulf as well as the stores sent to Poland for onward movement into Ukraine.
The Strategic Sealift Interim contract bridges the gap to a longer term arrangement, and the Defence Investment Plan committed to a sealift capability beyond the current ships. Keeping four hulls working through to the end of the decade requires the refits now being scheduled.
