Royal Navy: Mothballed warship from Portsmouth destined for a new lease of life in Lithuania with a £55m upgrade

HMS Quorn was sold to Lithuania in April 2020 after being retired by the Senior Service in 2017. She is the third British minehunter to be sold to Lithuania.

The regeneration work to get the ship into a fit state will take place at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in the company’s Appledore yard in Devon.

Once completed, she will join the Lithuanian Navy and support Nato activity in the Baltic region.

Jeremy Quin, defence procurement minister responsible for buying military kit, said: ‘I’m pleased that this multimillion-pound contract will see a former Royal Navy mine-hunting vessel restored and regenerated in a British shipyard, supporting UK jobs and strengthening shipbuilding in the south-west.

‘Lithuania is a key Nato ally and Joint Expeditionary Force partner, and this mine-hunting vessel will bolster Nato maritime capability across Europe, ensuring the Alliance remains ready to respond to evolving global threats.’

HMS Quorn completed 27 years of service with the Royal Navy before being sold to Lithuania.

The vessel patrolled the seas as part of the British fleet of Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) until 2017.

Hunt-class vessels specialise in active mine-hunting. They use high-definition sonar to scour seabeds for mines, which are then destroyed by the ship’s clearance diving teams or mine disposal system.

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Tailored for the Lithuanian Navy, the work includes upgrades to the ship’s mission and sonar systems, and an additional search and rescue capability.

The contract, which supports about 100 jobs, will also add new main engines, generators and propulsion gear as well as refurbish the accommodation, hull, ancillary systems, electrical systems and painting.

Commodore Richard Whalley, head of Defence Equipment Sales Authority which approved the contract to upgrade Quorn, said: ‘This contract award reinforces our excellent working relationship that we have with Lithuania as our Nato ally as well as UK-owned Harland & Wolff.

‘We’re really pleased to see HMS Quorn refurbished in Appledore Shipyard and look forward to continuing our work with them supporting the British supply chain.’

Quorn is due to join the Lithuanian Navy in 2024. She will join the former HMS Dulverton and Cottesmore which were sold to Lithuania in 2008.