Rumours Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Clyde will be sold to Brazil are defunct

Offshore patrol ship HMS Clyde sailed back into Portsmouth earlier this month after a mammoth stint defending the British territory in the south Atlantic.

However, just hours after returning, the 13-year-old ship was decommissioned. The vessel had been built and owned by BAE Systems and had been on lease to the Senior Service.

Previous reports had claimed Clyde would begin a new life in Brazil, working for the nation’s navy.

However, Marco Caffe, general manager at BAE Systems of Brazil, told military site Naval Power, that the Brazilian Navy had ‘formally declined’ the possibility of business with HMS Clyde.

The future of the ship remains uncertain. It’s understood BAE Systems is still assessing the warship’s future, which could see her potentially leased back to the Royal Navy or taken on by another country.

A spokeswoman for the international defence giant’s UK wing added: ‘HMS Clyde remains under lease from BAE Systems to the Royal Navy until the end of March 2020.

‘We are proud of our history of supporting HMS Clyde for more than 12 years during her service in the Falklands.’

HMS Clyde was launched in 2006 and was built entirely at Portsmouth Naval Base.

During her time defending the Falklands, more than 800 sailors have served on her.

A navy spokesman said: 'Some of the current crew have been with the ship for about nine months but most for about six months, the standard tour length before handing over to the relief crew.

'Having seen about 25 crew handovers over a dozen years, HMS Clyde will now be stripped of personal belongings and prepared for her handover to BAE Systems for the next phase of her life.'

Lieutenant Commander Richard Skelton was Clyde’s last captain. He said bringing her home to Portsmouth just before Christmas was ‘hugely bittersweet’.

‘Clyde’s been away from Portsmouth for just over 12 years, and to come back to families just before Christmas and decommission her on the same day makes it doubly poignant.’