HMS Victory: New Commanding Officer appointed to Royal Navy flagship after ten year tenure

Lieutenant Commander Steve Cass will be at the helm of the Royal Navy flagship, replacing Lieutenant Commander BJ Smith. The announcement was shared with the public on the HMNB Portsmouth Facebook page.

The force said: “Lieutenant Commander Steve Cass has taken over command of the Royal Navy’s oldest commissioned warship, HMS Victory. This means that we bid farewell to Lieutenant Commander BJ Smith who hands over after an incredible ten years as Commanding Officer.”

The appointment was made on May 12. HMS Victory, a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line commissioned in 1778, is utilised in a ceremonial role alongside her duties as a tourist attraction. She is the oldest naval vessel still in commission, with 247 years of service to her name.

The flagship is most prominently known for the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, where she spearheaded Admiral Lord Nelson’s famous victory against Napoleon - fighting against the French and Spanish fleets.

HMS Victory restoration

Highly skilled shipwrights, conservationists and archaeologists are currently hard at work restoring HMS Victory to her former glory. The Big Repair will see much of the ship modernised, and is due to be completed in 2032.

Conservation work covers far more than the restoration of the ship itself. Some of the Woodboring Deathwatch beetles seen attacking her timber frame have been put on display at a Zoological Society of London exhibition in London Zoo.

Conservationists are hoping the repairs will protect the ship from the elements over the next 50 years and beyond. HMS Victory’s midship from the waterline, bow and stern, will be fully restored. She will also be fully re-rigged and a new figurehead will be created. It’s hoped the reframing stage will be finished by the end of the summer. In an ironic twist, HMS Victory is currently being rebuilt using French wood.