Defence

Serco awarded Maritime Services contracts to support Royal Navy

Posted 15 May 2025

Serco has been awarded three contracts with a combined value of over £1 billion by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide maritime services for the Royal Navy. The contracts, which replace existing services and expand into new capabilities will commence later this year.

Image courtesy Serco

Serco has been a key partner to the Royal Navy for nearly 30 years, providing critical services supporting military training exercises, trialling new maritime technology and assisting the movements of Royal Navy ships in and out of harbour.

The three awarded contracts are:

A contract valued at c.£850 million over 10 years for the delivery of in-port services for HMNB Devonport in Plymouth, HMNB Portsmouth and for the Clyde, including HMNB Faslane. This includes the procurement of 24 new vessels on behalf of the Royal Navy which will be brought into service over the next decade to modernise the fleet and replace the older vessels currently operated. Services will include vessel towage, passenger transfer, and barge and tank cleaning services at Portsmouth and Devonport.

A contract valued at c.£70 million over five years for the provision of inshore support to military training and exercises at the British Underwater Test and Evaluation (BUTEC), an underwater military test and evaluation range off the northwest coast of Scotland and for Diver Training Support. In addition, the contract includes new work for Range Safety and Aircrew Training, which we will deliver in partnership with Briggs Marine.

A 10 year contract valued at c.£110 million for the provision of offshore support to military training and exercises. This service includes two specialist ocean-going vessels for regional and worldwide support.

Commenting on the contract awards, Anthony Kirby, Serco Group Chief Executive, said: “We are proud to have been awarded these three contracts and to have the privilege of continuing to provide critical operational services to the Royal Navy. These awards further strengthen our position in the defence market, where we provide deep expertise around the world.

“We have been performing these duties to an extremely high standard for the last 28 years and we now have the opportunity to modernise the fleet of support vessels to ensure that the Navy has the support it requires, day in, day out, to enable it to keep our waters safe.”