Marine engineers play a vital role

MARINE engineering firm SMS Group has stressed it is continuing to operate during the coronavirus pandemic because it is playing an integral role in helping to keep Britain trading and staying safe.

The Southampton-headquartered company with engineering workshops across the South is supporting maritime infrastructure, crucial freight operators and the nation’s defence sector.

SMS group has engineering workshops in Poole, Avonmouth, Portsmouth, Dover and at Devonport in Plymouth, where it works with defence giant Babcock International Group Plc.

Nicholas Warren, commercial director of the SMS Group, said: “From our sites we support the likes of the Royal Navy, via Babcock and BAE Systems, UK Border Force, Trinity House and various inter-island freight operators as well as numerous ports, harbours and tug/towage operations.

“We’re a small, but important part of the country’s maritime infrastructure and, as Island nation, we must keep trading.”

He added: “We’ve just this week docked a UK Border Force vessel in Lowestoft, provisioned support to aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines, and completed two emergency call-outs for two differing tug operators.

“We’ve also supported the vital inter-island ferry operators that help serve both the communities of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Wight.

“It’s key that we follow Government advice, take all precautions, keep colleagues and customers safe, and develop our own business processes, and then of course carry on.”