MoD sells three more warships to be broken up for scrap metal
THE Ministry of Defence has sold three Type 42 destroyers to be scrapped, The News can reveal.
Falklands veteran HMS Exeter was quietly towed out of Portsmouth Naval Base yesterday afternoon to head to a scrapyard in Turkey.
HMS Nottingham and HMS Southampton are due to follow in the coming weeks after the MoD sold the decommissioned warships to Leyal Ship Recycling – the same firm which is currently breaking up the old aircraft carrier HMS Invincible.
The destroyers have a combined weight of around 24,000 tonnes of steel which is worth more than £2m in scrap – although the price Leyal paid for them has not been disclosed.
Defence officials considered 12 bids for the ships which were sold as one online auction lot.
An MoD spokesman said: ‘The decision to select Leyal was made because the company’s bid gave us the best financial return for the MoD.’
The ships have been stripped to the bone for spare parts by the MoD and Exeter was a shadow of her former self as ocean-going tugs towed her out of Portsmouth Harbour yesterday.
A small number of people gathered in silence at the Round Tower in Old Portsmouth to see the ship leave.
Len Brownsword, 63, who served as a Petty Officer radar operator in the ship during the Falklands War, said: ‘It’s extremely sad to see her go. There’s not many ships you serve on that go to war and I had some great times on the ship.
‘She was a cracking warship, a good workhorse and had a brilliant crew. To go through the Falklands unscathed was a bit of luck but not without a lot of hard work and an outstanding crew and captain.
‘I’m extremely proud of the time I spent on her. It’s a sad day but in the end all ships have to go.’
Exeter was commissioned in 1980 and saw action off Kuwait in 1991 as well as the Falklands. She was decommissioned in 2009.
It will take about a month for the ship to reach Leyal’s scrapyard in Izmir, Turkey, where she will be cut up and recycled into new steel.
The former Southampton and Nottingham warships are set to leave Portsmouth soon.
Southampton, which was commissioned in 1981, collided with a merchant container ship in the Straits of Hormuz in 1988. In 2006, she seized almost four tonnes of cocaine while operating in the Caribbean. She was decommissioned in 2009.
Nottingham was commissioned in 1983. She almost sank in 2002 when she ran aground off the coast of Australia. The ship was back at sea two years later after a £39m repair and refit but was mothballed in 2008. She officially retired in February last year.
Leyal Ship Recycling won the contract to scrap HMS Invincible earlier this year. The same firm scrapped Type 42s HMS Cardiff, Glasgow and Newcastle in 2008.
A company spokesman said: ‘Our continued co-operation for the recycling of the decommissioned Royal Navy vessels is a testament to the high quality work performed.’
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Comments
There are 12 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Graham Wheatley
Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 10:23 AMOr there are still glitches with the software? They appear to have it sorted for the most part but there are still some strange effects from time-to-time. Then, you have to consider with all of the recent spamming, the moderators might inadvertantyly suffer from an over-active 'delete' finger.
Tman
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 09:07 PMStrange....I only asked what was newsworthy about thirty year old ships going for scrap. The News is getting touchy...
casualonlooker
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 06:27 PMmoderate what anti navy for heavens sake pprtsmouth news fet a grip you are supposed to report un biased please
pete cross
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 04:05 PMwhy are a lot of us "pondering moderation"? just curious- modify what
pete cross
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 03:58 PMHMS Nottingham- nearly sank 2002 - refit at 39 million quid in 2004 - mothballed in 2008- scrapped in Turkey in a couple of weeks - Talk about throwing money away- and previous commenter - you forgot we`ve still got the Gosport ferry so sleep easy tonight.
Pride of the South RED and WHITE
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 03:29 PMWith all this scrap metal on the market, it begs the question as to why my razorblades are so bloomin expensive!!
Tman
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 03:14 PMComment removed by moderator
timberland boots
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 02:33 PMComment removed by moderator
timberland boots
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 02:32 PMComment removed by moderator
ad54
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 12:59 PMTHERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL WITH THE NEW 45 DESTOYERS IF THEY CAN SORT THE SYSTEMS OUT AND 2 NEW CARRIERS WITH NO PLANES AND 1 GOING INTO MOTH BALLS SO THATS SOMETHING TO LAUGH ABOUT AT LEAST WE HAVE THE YANKS TO SHOW US WHAT A WARSHIP IS MAKES RSSS LOOK LIKE TOYS LOL SAD COUNTRY WE LIVE IN NOTHING BUILT NO MONEY WHAT A JOKE JOKE BRITANIA
Liebour 1997-2010
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 11:36 AMRule Brittannia, Brittainnia no longer rules the waves. With the possible exception of the Solent, but even that is debatable. Wheres that rowing boat with two lads in it, we may need it soon.
Liebour 1997-2010
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 11:36 AMRule Brittannia, Brittainnia no longer rules the waves. With the possible exception of the Solent, but even that is debatable. Wheres that rowing boat with two lads in it, we may need it soon.
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