• Defence

The Italian Job

James Fisher Defence (JFD) has carried out a successful refurbishment of hyperbaric (high pressure) diving equipment for the Italian Navy.

The equipment belongs to the diving vessel Nave Anteo, a 3200 tonne, 98 metre vessel launched in 1982. JFD was invited to perform initial survey works in March 2012 and, following a substantial report and budget costing, the Italian Navy produced a technical specification for the works.

Led by project manager Scott McNeil, the refurbishment work was completed in the UK in May 2013 and all apparatus was returned to Italy and re-installed on board the Nave Anteo – with the help of significant on-the-spot support from an experienced team of JFD engineers.

“The close working relationship between JFD and the Italian Navy was particularly evident during the delivery and integration phase of the project.”

Recalls Scott.

JFD made a successful contract bid in August 2012 and the equipment for refurbishment, which included a dive bell, hyperbaric chambers, environmental control units and gas manifolds, was shipped to the UK in the following December.

Now that the refurbished equipment has undergone successful operating tests, the diving support and recompression capabilities of the Italian Navy have been ensured.

Scott adds:

“The timely and successful delivery of this contract by JFD – together with numerous other projects including the recent refurbishment of a submarine rescue vehicle for the Swedish Navy – demonstrates our comprehensive capabilities. We have an exceptionally broad range of inhouse skills spanning everything from design and manufacture to delivery, integration and training, and we are able to deploy these to offer customers programmes tailored to their precise requirements while providing exceptional value.”