The Royal Navy, KBS Maritime and Team Portsmouth are runners-up for the BCI Europe Awards 2024 in the Most Effective Recovery category. This recognition is for the Naval Base’s outstanding business continuity planning and resilience, ensuring the successful execution of major exercise Steadfast Defender in February 2024.
The Business Continuity Institute (BCI) Awards recognise and celebrate excellence in various fields, highlighting individuals who have made a significant impact through their exceptional work and dedication.
In February 2024, the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, based in His Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth, was brought from 30 days’ notice to immediate readiness in just 7 days. Steadfast Defender, the largest NATO exercise since the Cold War, demonstrated NATO’s resolve, unity, and capability, involving more than 20,000 UK military personnel deployed across Scandinavia and northern Europe alongside other NATO forces.
Due to an issue with her propeller shaft coupling, HMS Queen Elizabeth, originally earmarked for the exercise, was unable to participate. This necessitated a swift and detailed contingency plan to swap vessels, ensuring the deployment of the capability. In just 7 days, approximately 70,000 sailors’ days rations were loaded, along with 450 pallets of stores, spare parts for F-35 Lightning aircraft, Merlin and Wildcat helicopters, cold weather kit, and medical stores. The round-the-clock operation involved teams from across HM Naval Base Portsmouth to meet strict timelines. On 12th February, HMS Prince of Wales sailed for Norway to lead an international task group in one of the most significant military exercises in a generation.
“Making the shortlist for the Most Effective Recovery recognises the achievement across the whole of Portsmouth Naval Base in ensuring HMS Prince of Wales was ready to deploy. Across Team Portsmouth there was a huge determination to complete the task, and it really highlights the significant impact that everyone’s efforts had to play in the wider exercise, Steadfast Defender”, said James Davis, Managing Director, KBS Maritime.
The success of this operation was due to the detailed contingency resourcing plans and the adaptation of the plan owned by the MOD and all the industry partners supporting Portsmouth Naval Base. The 24-hour resourcing was instrumental in maintaining momentum and hitting the recovery time objectives (RTO).
KBS Maritime are an ISO 22301 accredited company. We are proactive in safeguarding our operations and services against potential disruptions. Planning several desktop exercises annually, we demonstrate our commitment to identifying risks, implementing effective strategies, and maintain uninterrupted service delivery to our customers at Portsmouth Naval Base.
