Portchester: Burgess Marine signs the double

Burgess Marine, Britain’s largest independent ship repairer, has scored a double by way of new long-term contracts with ferry operators Wightlink and Gosport Ferry. The contracts are worth more than £5 million and secure ship repair jobs now and into the future. 

Burgess Marine is refitting Wightlink's high-speed craft and Gosport Ferry's four ships, utilising the 1,000-tonne Rolls Royce syncrolift in Portchester, at the top of Portsmouth Harbour, Hampshire.

Wightlink is signed for five years and Gosport Ferry for three years.

Brian Needle, Burgess Marine’s technical director (commercial marine and defence), said: "This is great news for the site and really great news for the business.

"Wightlink and Gosport Ferry are arguably our most important local customers and it’s fantastic news that they’ve shown us a long-term commitment to both the Portchester site and Burgess Marine.

"We’re all extremely excited, grateful and very proud that they’ve agreed to come back year after year."

The cumulative contract value exceeds £5m and will help to secure many ship repair jobs in Portchester for the immediate refit season and coming years.

John Burrows, operations director at Wightlink, said: "The facility is ideal and the experience in-house within Burgess Marine is second-to-none.

"I’m 100% confident that this is exactly the right move for Wightlink; long-term deals secure not only commercial rates but also high levels of service commitment. We look forward to working with the team at Burgess Marine both on and off the Portchester footprint well into the future."

Capt Keith Edwards of Gosport Ferry said: "The location really is ideal, it couldn’t be bettered.

"By making a long-term commitment to Burgess Marine and the shiplift we can plan our schedules and manage our budgets better, and also develop a formal working partnership with Burgess Marine to the obvious benefit of both parties.

"Longer term it’s a win-win situation and really positive news for the local economy here in Hampshire."

From the Thames Estuary to the Bristol Channel, Burgess Marine has workshops and offices in Portchester, Portsmouth, Southampton, Dover, Poole and Avonmouth, supporting passenger ports and shipping throughout the English Channel.