Cost of retiring Falklands War ship RFA Argus revealed as replacement for hospital vessel uncertain
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The ship played a vital role in the 1982 conflict after being requisitioned
Millions of pounds has been spent to retire a former Falklands War ship that ended up in a deteriorating conditions.
Primary Casualty Receiving Ship RFA Argus, a vessel that served in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary for decades since 1982, was towed away from Portsmouth earlier this year. She spent several months alongside HMNB Portsmouth after being deemed unsafe to sail.
The Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26 revealed that it cost £9.45m to retire the ship. Retiring HMS Richmond and Chiddingfold also cost more than £55m.
RFA Argus held a military career which began in 1982, when she was requisitioned for service and later purchased outright in 1984. Formerly known as MV Contender Bezant, she would go on to have a lengthy military tenure where she was deployed across the globe - including to the Middle East during the Gulf War in 1991.
RFA Argus had an extensive and varied career. Her crew provide humanitarian aid to Kurdish civilians in Operation Haven. She was later deployed to the Adriatic to support military operations in Bosnia and Kosovo during the 1990s.
Other notable assignments include assisting civilians in Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak in 2014, establishing shore-based medical facilities and transporting aid to outlying areas of the country. Her ship’s company received 167 Ebola Medals for Service in West Africa, with the ship earning an Admiralty Board Letter of Commendation. Throughout the 2020s, she was dispatched to the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, the Eastern Mediterranean and Australia for Royal Marine deployment drills.
Before being towed away from HMNB Portsmouth on March 3. Originally it was planned for her to go back to sea, but she deemed not fit to sail by Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and Lloyd's Register. She was not activated after July 2025 due to her decrepit state.
The Primary Casualty Receiving Ship is designed to provide extensive medical care to sailors and marines at sea for a long period of time. She has a fully-equipped 100-bed medical complex on board; including an emergency department, resuscitation and surgical facilities, and a radiology suite complete with a CT scanner. Reports suggest that she will be scrapped. She was last seen in April moored in a quiet river near Falmouth. A specific replacement has not been determined.