Royal Navy: HMS Chiddingfold towed into Portsmouth this morning following her stint in the Gulf

She was brought back to Hampshire on a semi-submersible heavy lift vessel arriving first in Southampton, before being towed into Portsmouth Harbour this morning (April 5) in the glorious sunshine.

The Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV), designed to find and destroy mines, now needs to be placed in dry docking and be recertified as as her last refit was finished in February 2019.

Part of her recent work in the Gulf has saw her working alongside Saudi Arabian vessels as part of the Combined Maritime Forces, patrolling key shipping and trade lanes in the Middle East.

HMS Chiddingfold hit the headlines last year after she and the Scottish ship HMS Bangor collided off the coast of Bahrain in January. National reports said the latter vessel was “close to sinking”, with the galley and bedrooms damaged and a whole being left on her side.

Forces News reported £25m worth of damage was caused to the vessels, with the problem on HMS Chiddingfold thought to be a wiring issue.