HRH The Princess Royal visited Rosyth Dockyard on Saturday to officially name the Vine Trust’s first ever new medical ship, Forth Hope.

Yard bosses Babcock also took the opportunity to invite The Princess Royal to officially name its new engineering centre, The William Rankine Building.

The 35-metre Forth Hope, equipped and outfitted at Babcock’s Fife operation in a project supported by a number of other organisations, sailed into Rosyth late last year to be transformed into a fully-equipped medical ship, complete with laboratory, pharmacy, operating theatre, consultation rooms and dental surgery.

Due to leave Babcock’s facility in the coming weeks, the Vine Trust’s Forth Hope will deliver primary healthcare to some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

It is anticipated to provide 100,000 free consultations and treatments each year, and more than 2 million consultations over the next 20 years.

As part of a day of celebration on the Rosyth site, The Princess Royal was invited to formally name and tour Babcock’s new flagship state-of-the-art engineering centre, the William Rankine Building.

The building, named after the Scot whose work in Civil Engineering, Naval Architecture and Thermodynamics is recognised as having made a major impact on the development of engineering in Scotland, has the capacity to accommodate more than 450 staff and represents a significant investment in the future of the Rosyth site and its people.

Following the ceremony, the Princess Royal was invited to meet representatives of the Vine Trust and Babcock, before continuing on to visit Babcock’s ‘Engineering Our Success’ exhibition.

Willie McPherson, Vine Trust chief executive, said: “We are grateful for the invaluable support of Babcock International Group and the 30 other companies which have supported the outfitting of MV Forth Hope.

"It has been wonderful to see so many organisations generously contribute to this life-changing project and we look forward to sharing stories from Forth Hope’s Atlantic voyage and medical work on the Peruvian Amazon." 

John Howie, divisional chief executive for Babcock, said: “Today marks two very significant milestones for Babcock at Rosyth.

"The Forth Hope naming ceremony signifies a high point in our relationship with the Vine Trust and its vital mission to provide medical, home building and care support to communities in severe poverty.

“We sincerely hope Forth Hope, and our contribution to its development, will help change the lives of Amazonian River communities through the provision of an estimated 2 million medical consultations over the next 20 years.

"Working on the vessel has offered our people here a chance to be part of a legacy of hope.

“We are also honoured and proud to be able to welcome the Princess Royal to our facility to officially name our state-of-the-art engineering centre – The William Rankine Building.

"The investment in our facility underlines Babcock’s ambitions for continued growth and its long-term vision to be both a service provider and employer of choice.”