It took Babcock engineers 49 months to declare HMS Iron Duke seaworthy. Photo: Steve Reigate
Labour has criticized «unacceptable» years-long delays in overhauling Royal Navy frigates, putting pressure on new Defense Secretary Grant Shapps to clear the backlog.
Navy Type 23 frigate conversion by defense contractor Babcock now takes up to four years, official figures show. compared with 18 months on average ten years ago.
Increasingly lengthy repairs to submarine-hunting ships threaten to derail the deployment of the vessel intended to guard the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.
Figures tabled in Parliament by Defense Secretary James Cartlidge show Babcock's last five Type 23 conversions took an average of 39 months.
The latest was completed in June after Babcock engineers took 49 months. to declare HMS Iron Duke seaworthy.
John Healey MP, the shadow defense secretary, said: “The state of the Royal Navy and the state of its ships raise concerns about the UK's ability to meet its sovereign and NATO requirements.
“At a time of war in Europe, it is unacceptable that the number of frigates falls so low, which was compounded by the cost and time of converting Type 23 frigates.»
Naval sources reported that the «aging» Type 23s were working even harder due to defense cuts: an initial fleet of nineteen frigates for these years decreased by 40%.
Marc Francois MP, a former Armed Forces minister who received the conversion timeline, said: “Babcock is currently one of the largest suppliers to the Ministry of Defence, but their conversion record for the Royal Navy is really dismal.”
“ Ministers should invite the company's senior management for a «no coffee interview» and ask them what they intend to do about it, since it now has a significant impact on the defense of the kingdom.»
A refit is a major overhaul of a warship, costing up to £100 million per vessel in recent years. The Type 23 ships were built for the Royal Navy between 1985 and 1999 and require re-certification as seaworthy every six years.
Parliamentarians are regularly asked questions about the time and money spent on keeping aging warships operational Navy ships.
The fate of HMS Westminster remains unclear after her £100 million refurbishment was put on hold. Photo: Charlotte Graham
Mr Cartlidge said in July that repairs to HMS Westminster, another Type 23 frigate, cost £100 million before it was suspended. The ship's fate is now unclear.
Defense blog Navy Lookout this week revealed a number of errors in the Babcock-led conversion of the Type 23 HMS Somerset.
Somerset, which completed a 43-month refurbishment last May, was reportedly dealing with a leaking rudder bearing that required repeated docking over several months to repair.
Delays in weapon testing caused by failures are reported attempts at repairs are jeopardizing the warship's intended deployment as part of the HMS Queen Elizabeth Security Task Force scheduled for the coming weeks.
The Navy said: “HMS Somerset is currently undergoing a maintenance period and will return to sea in the coming weeks.
“We continue to meet all of our operational obligations.”
A Babcock spokesman said: “We are working closely with our customer to ensure the Type 23 frigates remain safe and capable until the end.” extended service life. life. We have reached the agreed volume and delivery schedule for each platform.»
Babcock declined to comment on its work on HMS Somerset.
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