British charity plans disaster relief ship

Brittania Maritime Aid (BMA), a British charity, is planning to build a GBP 150 million disaster relief ship at Cammell Laird in the UK. The 135m-long vessel will be based on a variant of the shipbuilder’s RoPax platform, developed in conjunction with ship designer Leadship and first unveiled at Nor-Shipping earlier this year.
The vessel will be permanently based in the Caribbean to support disaster relief efforts and provide specialist training for cadets and apprentices. To be operated by a British company, the eight-deck ship will have a complement of up to 260 persons and its facilities will include landing craft, helicopters, drones, rough terrain vehicles, medical facilities, briefing rooms, conference facilities and a training centre with bridge and engine simulators. The vessel will be capable of transporting up to 6,000 tonnes of vehicles and aid supplies, more than ten times the capacity of current vessels, including field hospitals, field kitchens, tents, fresh water and fuel for disaster-struck areas.
BMA has launched a crowd-funding campaign to cover the initial costs of a detailed business plan and the ship is likely to be delivered by 2024. Until then, BMA will charter or buy suitable ships to carry out its relief work.