"No definitive decision" on future of HMS Westminster as retired Royal Navy ship to be towed to Portsmouth
.jpg?width=96&crop=1:1,smart)
Uncertainty shrouds the future of a retired Royal Navy frigate that is due to be towed to Portsmouth.
HMS Westminster, a Type 23 Duke-class vessel that was decommissioned in 2024, is scheduled to be taken to HMNB Portsmouth this evening. According to the King’s Harbour Master (KHM) shipping movements, she is due to sail past The Round Tower in Old Portsmouth at roughly 7pm.
Responding to questions about her disposal, a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson said: “When HMS Westminster arrives at HMNB Portsmouth it will be under the management of the Disposal Reserve Ships Organisation. There has been no definitive decision reached regarding a future disposal plan and because of commercial sensitivities, we are unable to share information concerning any potential sales campaigns.”
Why was HMS Westminster retired?
HMS Westminster will be joining her sister ship, HMS Argyll, at HMNB Portsmouth. Spotted in surprisingly good condition, the frigate was towed to the base on September 19. Several Type 23s are being phased out and are due to be replace with modernised Type 26 and 31 counterparts.
Royal Navy top brass were quizzed about the status of HMS Westminster in 2023. Mark Francois, current Conservative MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, previously said she was in such poor condition that she was likely not to be refitted, despite several years of loyal service to the crown.
Then defence secretary Grant Shapps made the decision to take her out of service in May 2024, with long-held plans to renovate the frigate being shelved. A lack of available manpower was also mooted in the national press as a reason behind the end of her career. She was originally launched in 1992 and underwent an extensive refit in 2014 - completed in 2016 in Portsmouth.
As set out in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), the report encourages the Royal Navy to modernise quickly with a mix of advanced warships alongside un-crewed vessels.