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HMS Diamond © Wikipedia
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£1bn Royal Navy destroyer aborts Gulf mission
after breakdown
Published time: 23 Nov, 2017 22:26
One of the most advanced Royal Navy warships, which cost
around £1 billion, had to abort its mission in the Persian Gulf and return to
the UK. This leaves the country without a seaworthy destroyer as five other
vessels are already undergoing maintenance.
The HMS Diamond Type 45 destroyer, which was on a 9-month
mission to protect trade routes in the region, was forced to head home after
just two months. “We can confirm HMS Diamond has experienced technical issues
but we do not discuss the detailed material state of our operational ships and
are unable to comment further,” a Navy spokesman said.
Reports in the British media, however, claimed the vessel
experienced problems with a propeller which sailors failed to repair at sea.
The ship will join the Royal Navy’s five other destroyers, all built by BAE
Systems and Rolls-Royce, which remain stuck in Portsmouth because of
maintenance issues, a shortage of sailors and engine problems.
This leaves UK incapable of fulfilling its commitment to
NATO allies in the Gulf as there’s currently no replacement for the HMS
Diamond. “There is no question that this is a blow,” a military source told The
Times.
The Royal Navy destroyers keep breaking down in the Gulf
as their engines struggle to perform in warm water. Rolls-Royce told the
Defense Select Committee that conditions in the Middle East are not in line
with the specifications according to which the engines were built.
READ MORE: Navy ‘cannibalizing’ ships for parts, leaving
vessels out of action
In 2016, the Ministry of Defense confirmed that six Type
45 destroyers had jointly spent a combined 1,515 days in UK ports during the
previous year, with four ships lying idle for more than 300 days.
Original post: rt.com
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Type 45 Daring Class: Details
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