Indo Pacific 2022: BMT positions ELLIDA design for Australia's SEA 2200 programme

A computer-generated image of the ELLIDA multirole logistics ship concept. (BMT)

Ship design firm BMT is positioning its ELLIDA multirole logistics support ship design for the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN‘s) Joint Support Ship Project, or SEA 2200.

The concept was first unveiled at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2019 exhibition in London. It is able to “transport and deliver troops, vehicles, equipment, and supplies to and from anywhere in the world in support of amphibious warfare and littoral operations”, the company said in a statement released in conjunction with the Indo Pacific 2022 exhibition in Sydney.

The ELLIDA concept has an overall length of about 200 m, and it has been designed with a large vehicle deck through the middle of the platform. The vessel features a stern well dock with space for two landing craft, and a lower vehicle deck that can be reconfigured for stowage.

In addition, the vessel has been designed to accommodate up to two cranes to hoist and store about ten 20-foot containers in the forward section, and it can be built with up to two replenishment-at-sea (RAS) masts for underway refuelling operations, said a BMT representative who spoke to Janes at the Indo Pacific 2022 exhibition.

Besides logistics and replenishment operations, the ELLIDA concept is also quickly configurable for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations. It can be fitted with containerised mission-specific equipment, such as desalination plants and generators, should the situation call for it, the representative added.