Royal Navy warship HMS Daring towed away from Portsmouth for maintenance after years stuck alongside

Billion-pound warship HMS Daring, which has not been at sea since 2017, being towed from Portsmouth Naval Base for a multi-million pound engine refit which is being carried out to all of the Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyer. Picture date: Wednesday September 15, 2021. PA Photo. Picture: Ben Mitchell/PA Wire

HMS Daring was watched by members of the public as it left Portsmouth Naval Base for its journey to the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead where the power improvement plan (PIP) upgrade will take place.

All six of the Type 45 air defence destroyers are set to undergo the replacement of their power and propulsion systems which have failed in some of the ships in the class of vessels which the navy has described as ‘state of the art’.

It is understood that Daring is being towed to Birkenhead as this is the most efficient method and best value for money.

As reported in The News, a former navy officer described Britain’s number of warships as a ‘major embarrassment’ after news of HMS Daring going for maintenance was revealed earlier this week.

The upgrade is expected to be completed by 2023. Daring was last at sea in 2017 for patrols in the Gulf as part of Operation Kipion.

During the deployment, Daring travelled 50,000 miles, visiting 12 countries and undertook 20 patrols of the Bab-al-Mandeb strait to reassure merchant vessels and keep the sea lanes open for trade.

Former Royal Navy officer brands Britain's number of operational warships a 'maj...

In July 2021, HMS Defender, which was at the centre of a diplomatic row with Russia following a voyage off the Crimean peninsula, was the only vessel of the class without an issue.

Commons Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood suggested at the time that the situation was ‘operationally unacceptable’.

The other five Type 45s were alongside for planned maintenance or because of problems developed at sea.

HMS Diamond suffered a mechanical issue with its engine forcing it to temporarily abandon its deployment with the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

It has now returned to sea after six weeks alongside to rejoin Defender and the Carrier Strike Group (CSG).

As well as Daring, Duncan is undergoing ‘deep maintenance’, Dauntless has been upgraded and is due to return to sea for trials this year and Dragon is undergoing ‘planned maintenance’.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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