'Unseaworthy' HMS Northumberland last seen in deteriorating condition moved amid doubts over future
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The Type 23 frigate was towed into Portsmouth last year and was in a deteriorating state
A retired Royal Navy frigate is being moved to a naval base jetty amid expectations that she’ll be scrapped.
HMS Northumberland originally arrived in Portsmouth after being retired from service. She has spent much of her time near HMNB Portsmouth and Fareham Creek since, but is now on the move again.
According to today’s King Harbour Master shipping movements, the Duke-class warship was taken out of Lock C and brought to the Fountain Lake Jetty. She was towed by tug boats Indulgent, Independent, and Christina.
Other retired ships brought to Portsmouth were prepared to leave the naval base in a similar way before being scrapped. HMS Westminster left the city on July 24 in a sorry state, with her hull clearly rusting and many of her features being stripped for parts.
She will now “undergo disposal at an appropriately authorised recycling facility,” the Royal Navy previously said. Sister ship HMS Montrose underwent the same fate. After being retired in 2023 and spending a lengthy period of time in Portsmouth, she was towed out of HMNB Portsmouth on July 15.
The Royal Navy previously confirmed that the warship was awarded to the Turkish firm Leyal Ship Recycling (Leyal Gemi Sokum) for dismantling. She will be recycled at the company’s facility in Aliaga.
Now it seems that HMS Northumberland will follow suit, though this has not been officially confirmed by the Royal Navy. When approached last summer, a Royal Navy spokesperson said no decision has been made regarding her future.
When she was brought to HMNB Portsmouth in May 2025, she was seen in an incredibly poor state. It was originally decided to retire HMS Northumberland in November 2024, alongside both Landing Platform Docks, HMS Albion and Bulwark, alongside other capabilities.
Former defence secretary John Healey, Labour, previously said the Type 23 frigate had “structural damage” which made her “uneconomical to repair”. Lieutenant General Sir Robert Magowan KCB CBE echoed the politician’s thoughts during a defence select committee meeting in December 2024.
He previously said: “In terms of the six retirements, the secretary of state outlined to the house the implications of that. Three of those involved vessels that were no longer seaworthy, so we were spending money against capabilities that were never going to be used operationally. There was a pretty strong case with regards to those three classes of ship.”