Royal Navy's HMS Bronington: Prince Charles says it is 'humbling' to see efforts to save 'last of wooden walls' warship he once captained

As reported, a dive survey has concluded that HMS Bronington, a Cold War-era minesweeper and one of the last naval ships to feature a wooden hull, can be saved.

The ship had the survey in June in order to identify the state of the hull before a decision was made on salvaging her.

The assessment was seen as pivotal in whether efforts to save the sunken vessel were realistic following a campaign by the Bronington Trust.

Despite her past glories and service to the country in helping maintain peace during the turbulent Cold War, Bronington had looked set for the scrapyard after being submerged at Birkenhead Docks, Merseyside.

But a dive survey by Briggs Marine revealed ‘confidence ‘ Bronington can be salvaged.

Prince Charles, who was in Portsmouth last week to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War, admitted he was ‘delighted’ with efforts to save Bronington before adding: ‘It is truly humbling to learn of the efforts you are going to in order to recover this historical naval vessel.’

Mike McBride, of the trust, said last month: ‘The dive survey was an exceptionally successful occasion for the trust and more importantly HMS Bronington.

‘The dive survey was relayed to a shore-side screen by the divers on board camera and even though the visibility was far from good we were afforded some really good shots of the ship's hull as the diver progressed around the ship.

‘It has now been confirmed that with some preliminary work on the watertight integrity of the hull and internal debris/silt removal that she is salvageable.

‘The dive team were happy with the results of the survey, only finding two minor holes in the port bow, which they can easily make watertight for salvage and towing.’

No problems were found with the aluminium frame of the vessel.

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The next stage of the salvage operation will see removal of debris and silt internally throughout the hull and the hull patched up to achieve watertight integrity, pump out and refloat.

Mike added the trust will now look to ‘achieve charitable status and future applications for grants and sponsorships’.