JFD, the company formed by merging Fisher Defence and Divex, has secured a £12.1m contract from the UK Ministry of Defence to support the Nato submarine rescue system (NSRS).

The five-year contract covers all aspects of operation and through-life-support, and includes options through to 2023.

Under the deal, services will be managed by JFD’s submarine escape and rescue team, while engineering and technical support will be provided by the company’s engineering support cell.

JFD managing director Mike Howarth said: “It is a source of great pride that the participant nations of the United Kingdom, France, and Norway have entrusted the management of the NSRS to JFD.

“The contract recognises our unwavering commitment to the safety of submariners, and the diligence with which we deliver our existing services in Australia and Singapore.”

The agreement also has potential for shared training, cross-fertilisation of expertise, and commonality of approaches.

For this project, JFD will collaborate with BMT Isis, wherein the latter will carry out a safety governance role, while the NSRS will be operated in accordance with JFD’s global safety management system.

JFD’s National Hyperbaric Centre will provide training course accreditation.

NSRS programme manager commander Dickie Randall said: “It is vital to the safety of submariners worldwide that the NSRS remains a fully-capable service delivered by skilled and experienced personnel.

“It is absolutely critical that we have a submarine rescue service that is not just fit-for-purpose, but also world class in its capabilities.”

JFD has been an integral part of the UK’s submarine rescue provision since 1983.