Great War veteran of Jutland may join city's fleet of historic ships
The navy's second-oldest ship could be moved to Portsmouth, The News can reveal.
Talks are under way to see if HMS Caroline, the oldest floating warship in the navy, could move to the city from Belfast.
The Ministry of Defence is facing a 3.5m bill to refurbish the 1914-vintage light cruiser, which is currently a training ship for reservists.
With funding needed for the war in Afghanistan, the MoD has approached the National Museum of the Royal Navy to ask it to take it on.
The museum includes HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Museum, the navy's submarine museum, Royal Marines museum and the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovil.
It would see the ship – which is bigger than HMS Warrior – being decommissioned and moved to Portsmouth Harbour as a heritage attraction.
That would depend on the Heritage Lottery Fund making a grant, but a minister has confirmed talks are ongoing.
Baroness Taylor, Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, said: 'We are exploring with the National Museum of the Royal Navy whether it would be willing to assume responsibility for the ship, not as a commissioned warship but as a historic example of naval power from the First World War.
'This decision is dependent on the provision of National Lottery funding for the Royal Navy National Museum and is determined by timescales set by Belfast City Council.'
Portsmouth City Council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said: 'It would be fantastic to have HMS Caroline here, to give visitors the whole heritage package.
'We have the Mary Rose for the Tudor era, Victory for the Napoleonic age and Warrior for the Victorians.
'But having Caroline would give us the age of steel and the great battleships of the First World War.
'The idea, though, has to be weighed against the reality of how big she is and where you would put her.'
Caroline is the only veteran still afloat from the Battle of Jutland in the First World War.
The 1916 encounter was the last major battleship duel fought by the Royal Navy.
Christopher Donnithorne, 66, a naval historian from Gosport, said: 'HMS Caroline is one of the few ships left from the Battle of Jutland, which was a hugely significant sea battle.
'As an enthusiast I would love to see her in Portsmouth harbour because you just don't see these vessels very often.
'But anyone taking it on would have to make very difficult decisions about cost – this is a multi-million pound enterprise'.
Baroness Taylor added a decision had not been finalised, but she expected an announcement in December.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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