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From: Inspector Grace O'Sullivan, CDI. To: Bamburgh Company. CC: CapitalExpenditure@cdi.police.br Topic: Enquiry into surplus ships and refurbishments.
Clearance: EYES ONLY
Dear sir / madam
I am reaching out to you as the Civil Defence Initiative urgently requires excess prison capacity. The Parkhurst overflow facility in Omega-3 was regrettably condemned over construction defects and deteriorating conditions, however this is now having an unacceptable effect on the broader Bretonian prison estate.
As a result, we have received emergency leave to quickly procure alternate capabilities, and a modest budget to fund any necessary works. As - a stop gap measure, if nothing else - we are looking to procure a liner that can be refitted for the secure containment of convicts.
We have offered this tendering opportunity to the Crown Corporations, however in the interest of encouraging market competition, we are also reaching out to the Bamburgh Company. We understand that you currently operate a liner fleet and are enquiring whether you have excess or aging stock that you may be willing divest.
We currently operate the HMPS Tayloe, an Oasis-class vessel. Given that our crews are already familiar with this class, and we have existing extendable maintenance contracts for the Tayloe's upkeep, another vessel of this class would be preferable.
Despite this, our requirements are flexible, and an Oasis liner is not an absolute must.
Our primary concern is that any procured vessel must be available quickly, and at limited cost. As a result, we would prefer to obtain any vessels that are either surplus and being phased out of your own fleets, or are derelict but could be put back into service with minimum works.
Please let me know as a matter of urgency if your company has an appropriate hull to service this request, and if so, whether you have internal capacity for retrofitting works to shape the hull to our requirements.
What a pleasure it is to hear from an organisation such as yourselves. We admire your work protecting the wild frontiers of Omega 3 and Planet Nottingham. Now, let me introduce myself, my name is Humphrey Sanders. I form part of Bamburgh's Fleet Management team and have been authorised to deal with your request.
Bamburgh operates these days primarily as a general cargo haulage company, however we do still keep close to our roots and operate liners across all of Sirius. I'm sure you have heard of our famed Three Sisters, they've won many awards in their time. As such, vessels are in continuous rotation, some up for refit and repair, while others fail to meet our high requirements for service and are subsequently repurposed. Either for parts, or sadly end up in our small recycling yard, something we try to avoid at all costs.
That being said, we do possess a select few vessels that could be brought back into service for yourselves, relatively easily. I would have to speak with our engineering heads to figure out refit plans for the vessel that takes for fancy.
Currently, across the whole fleet, we have three vessels that you may fit your requirements;
Oasis Passenger Liner - Given you named this class, we do have one available. However, not one I would usually offer as it has significant engine troubles. Something which will obviously take time to fix.
Hegemon Asteroid Miner - Not an obvious choice for prisoner containment, but the mining equipment has already been stripped out offering a cavernous space for refitting cells.
Titanic Heavy Tanker - Again, not an obvious choice. This one is currently in for refit but could be retired from service. The cargo hold offers ample space for containment.
While these are what we have currently, we are always procuring vessels that would suit our needs, so can seek out one that would meet your requirements to their entirety. Engineering and refits would be done in-house, so there would be no need to seek outside help. Conversion would also be handled by us, should you decide to do business with Bamburgh.
I would have normally suggested a Palace-class, however the only hull out of service is exactly that, just the hull. It would take extensive work which would not only be expensive, but time consuming. We would essentially be building a new ship, bar the hull.
Two further vessels that I don't think would fit your requirements, and quite frankly I'm not sure how we have, are an ancient AS-1300 Retrofit Transport and possibly a Salvager, one of those Junker freaks-of-engineering. Not sure how either of them still fly, both suffer from power core issues that have perplexed us so far.
In terms of a more permanent solution, would you and your organisation ever consider a joint venture with the Bamburgh Company? As we speak we are gearing up to enter the manufacturing world, starting with our new headquarters in Newcastle. It certainly wouldn't be out of the realms of possibility that a new prison could be built in the future. Anyhow, a conversation for another time.
I hope I have been some use to you regarding a new vessel. Please let me know should you wish to further your enquiry.
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From: Inspector Grace O'Sullivan, CDI. To: Bamburgh Company. CC: CapitalExpenditure@cdi.police.br Topic: Enquiry into surplus ships and refurbishments. Clearance: EYES ONLY
Mr Sanders
Thank you for your prompt attention on this matter.
I will need to discuss the suggested options with our capital investment team, and the Chief Inspector. Despite that, my own preliminary thoughts are that the Oasis liner would likely be the most suitable for our purposes.
My understanding is that the Titanic and Hegemon are bulk freight and ore carriers, with their cargo compartments typically being depressurised and not rated for human habitation. I suspect it would be expensive to retrofit these vessels to a standard the Home Office would find acceptable.
The certification process alone for "non-standard and novel" prison ship hulls would likely be time-consuming enough to offset any savings we made on the procurement.
On the other hand, the liner already possesses the interior functionality we are interested in, and is a "known quantity" in terms of the regulatory environment. The engines may end up being a surprisingly minor issue, as we are intending to deploy the vessel as a largely stationary prison hulk in Sprague orbit.
We would primarily need the station-keeping thrusters to be active, with any significant repositioning being facilitated by the local Lifter fleet.
Would you be able to draw up a pricing estimate for the vessel, sans engine repairs? I have also taken the liberty of attaching the Home Office's I024-B standards specifications set, which describe the required internal features and characteristics of Bretonian prison liners.
As noted, I will take this up for discussion with the relevant people within the CDI. It would be very useful if we could send an inspection team aboard to review the vessel too.
The offer to explore construction options surrounding a permanent prison is also noted with appreciation, however this is beyond our budgetary constraints at the current time. Should this position change in the future, we will be sure to include you in the offer to tender for the resulting contracts.
I must apologise for my leisurely reply, I've been personally orchestrating the manoeuvring of vessels so we could get to the Oasis.
Your thoughts on prisoner care are admirable, I must also admit that I didn't think they'd be suitable in the long term. We wanted to give you ample options as nothing is out of the realms of possibility here at Bamburgh, if you have an idea, we'll make it work. I'll keep the rough plans we drew up of a Hegemon Prison for a later date.
The Oasis has been moved from storage to Kensington for our teams to have a going over of it. I'd like to report that it was moved under it's own steam, albeit rather slowly. The Engineering team on board was quoted saying that it could only achieve around 40% of total thrust from the engines else it blows circuits somewhere up the line. As I said previously, we're unsure why. However with the intended use you have for it, this likely won't be any sort of issue. Power generation for systems remain unaffected.
Having thoroughly inspected the Home Office's I024-B standards specifications set, I badgered our design team for a very rough plan of what modifications to a deck would look like. Unfortunately I believe prisoners would not have mush room for recreational activities. The plan was sent back and is being rectified as we speak. This being primarily static and moved by lifters, I would suggest removing the Solar Navigation Automated Kymographic Equipment (S.N.A.K.E.) as it's quite large and would serve no purpose being the vessel won't be going far. Could also free up some extra space for more prisoners.
Now, unfortunately this is where I must get down to how much this is going to cost. The price of the vessel, running as it is, will set you back £500,000cr alone. Assorted maintenance works would normally cost anywhere up to £50,000cr, but as this is for the Crown, we'll negate that cost. Conversion from a worn out liner to something usable by yourselves is going to be upwards of £350,000cr.
A grand total of £850,000cr as the vessel stands now, with the rough conversion plan that we have drawn up. This cost may rise as we dig into the old girl, but we'd be happy to put a cap on the quote for £950,000cr with any costs past that being absorbed by the Bamburgh Company.
The vessel is currently sat moored to Kensington if you wish to send a team on board to have a look over it yourselves. Please ignore any stares Gateway staff may gift you, we have been taking up the majority of their moorings for quite a while now.
Once your team has inspected the vessel, please let me know what your higher-ups decide so we can proceed.
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From: Inspector Grace O'Sullivan, CDI. To: Bamburgh Company. CC: CapitalExpenditure@cdi.police.br Topic: RE: Enquiry into surplus ships and refurbishments. Clearance: EYES ONLY
Mr Sanders
Thank you for facilitating the recent CDI inspection. We've passed on a formal list of technical recommendations and requirements to your foreman. Most of these relate to the introduction of structural partitions to create additional cells within the current guest spaces.
We will also require the removal of most soft furnishings and carpets in the interest of hygiene and safety. We've found in the past that upholstered furniture tends to be destroyed during... unrest. Or used to conceal illicit goods by prisoners. Or unpleasantly stained through means both ghastly and creative.
I can also confirm that the Chief Inspector and our Director of Finance have approved the expenditure associated with your quotation. Once you have confirmed that works can begin, we will raise a payment order.
Finance has proposed a funding structure whereby a quarter is released immediately, a further quarter upon the completion of internal structural changes, and the remaining half at the point the vessel is transferred into CDI custody.
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