Government defends retiring Royal Navy ships HMS Albion and Bulwark after millions of taxpayer cash lost
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A defence minister has defended retiring two former Royal Navy flagships despite millions of pounds being lost.
Luke Pollard, minister for defence readiness and industry, responded to the decommissioning of both HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion. A constructive loss of over £428m for retiring both ships was announced in the Ministry of Defence’s Annual Report and Accounts.
Defence secretary John Healey announced the decision in November last year, alongside the decommissioning of HMS Northumberland, both Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave-class tankers, and other capabilities. Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty asked the government how the figure was calculated for both Landing Platform Docks.
Mr Pollard responded: “As part of disposal procedures, we have calculated the write-down costs, in line with Managing Public Money and Ministry of Defence accounting policies. The constructive loss of £428,459,000 reflects the write-down of remaining value of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark and their associated capital works, spares and consumables following the decision to bring forward their out-of-service dates.”
An agreement for Brazil to purchase HMS Bulwark was signed aboard HMS Mersey at the Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEI) conference in London in September 2025. She is set to be renamed NDM Oiapoque once her renovations in Plymouth are completed. News website Globo reported in Brazil that a deal was struck for R$145m, the equivalent of roughly £20m, though the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has never confirmed this.
The sale of her sister ship, HMS Albion, has been put on hold largely due to her condition, with no final decision being made. Both ships have gone through refits at great expense. Then defence procurement minister Maria Eagle previously confirmed that the MoD spent £132.7m on refits since 2010. This figure did not include an estimated cost of refitting HMS Bulwark £72.1m between 2022 and 2025.
The government has consistently defended the decision to retire both ships, stating they were never intended to go back to sea. Defence secretary John Healey said the vessels were superficially kept on the books at the cost of £9m a year. He added that total savings of decommissioning the Landing Platform Docks, and the other capabilities announced in November 2024, would save the taxpayer £150m over the next two years, and up to £500m over the next five.
Mr Pollard reiterated this in his statement. He added: “Neither HMS Albion nor HMS Bulwark were due to go to sea ahead of their out-of-service dates in 2033 and 2034. Their disposal shows that we are delivering for defence by divesting ourselves of old capabilities to make way for the future. These ships were effectively mothballed by the previous Government.”