Exclusive: Inside the Royal Navy ship which almost sank
Here for the first time are the shocking images of the flood damage inside the crippled HMS Endurance.
Pictures obtained by The News show just how much water swamped the ice patrol ship when she suffered engine failure on December 16, last year.
Resembling scenes from the film Titanic, a passageway with accommodation berths can be seen under three feet of sea water.
Since the incident in the Strait of Magellan, off the coast of Chile, the navy has remained tight-lipped about how the crisis was averted.
But pictures showing the pumps and pipes used to stem the rapid flow of water testify to the drama that unfolded.
Former naval officer and editor of Warship World Steve Bush said: 'It is estimated that between 1,200 and 1,500 tons of sea water flooded into the ship and it's amazing that she didn't sink.
'The pictures show the accommodation cabins in C Deck up to the waist in water, which would probably not have happened in a warship with a sealable compartment design.'
Pictures of the flood damage have been circulated on the internet and come as Endurance is readied to be piggy-backed home. The heavy load ship Target is due to leave the Falkland Islands today after a week's delay in welding Endurance safely on.
The navy announced in January that it would return the ship to the UK for repair, after top brass had considered scrapping the ship entirely.
It has refused to say how much the return or repair will cost the taxpayer, but it is understood to be much less than the 39m spent on repairing the Portsmouth destroyer HMS Nottingham.
A navy spokesman said: 'We wouldn't comment on such material that has been leaked into the public domain.
'But we have never made secret of the fact that a large amount of water flooded into the ship.
'It has been pumped out and the return of Endurance is imminent.'
A SOVEREIGN PRESENCE IN ANTARCTICA
HMS Endurance is the navy's only ice patrol vessel and spends several months of each year in Antarctica carrying research scientists.
Her mission is: 'To patrol and survey the Antarctic and South Atlantic, maintaining Sovereign Presence with Defence Diplomacy and supporting the global community of Antarctica.'
While HMS Endurance is away from duty, RFA Largs Bay and HMS Clyde will be on patrol in the South Atlantic.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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