Foreland Shipping Limited is a company formed for the express purpose of building and owning the Point class sealift ship

Point class sealift ship

The Point class is a class of six roll-on/roll-off sealift ships procured under a Private Finance Initiative and available for use as naval auxiliaries to the British armed forces. They were the result of the Strategic Defence Review and are designed for the strategic transport of military cargoes...

s. These six ships are for the purpose of providing a transport capability to the British armed forces in times of emergency, but in normal circumstances are operated as commercial ships. The crews are part of the naval reserve and are under military discipline when required for service by the UK government.

The company currently has a fleet of six ships, Anvil Point, Hartland Point, Hurst Point, Beachy Head, Eddystone, and Longstone.

The company was formed by a consortium of Bibby Line

Bibby Line

The Bibby Line is a British company concerned with shipping and marine operations.Its parent company, Bibby Line Group Limited, can be traced back to the shipbroking partnership of Bibby & Hall, which was founded in 1801. It is and always has been based in Liverpool...

, Houlder Hadley, James Fisher plc

James Fisher & Sons

James Fisher & Sons plc is a large British provider of marine engineering services. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

 and Andrew Weir Shipping.