Mothballed HMS Montrose and Westminster moved into HMNB Portsmouth as future for Royal Navy ships uncertain
.jpg?width=96&crop=1:1,smart)
Both Royal Navy ships have been retired for years and been situated in Fareham creek
A pair of mothballed Royal Navy ships have been moved into the naval base amid having uncertain futures.
HMS Westminster and HMS Montrose were towed away from Fareham creek this week. The vessels are no longer active in the fleet.
Their movements were tracked in the King’s Harbour Master shipping movements. HMS Montrose, towed by tug boats Chirstina, Independent, and Indulgent, was brought to Fountain Lake Jetty Two at 6am on Monday (June 1).
HMS Westminster was taken to Fountain Lake Jetty One at 6.30am the following day. Tug boats Suzanne, Christina, Indulgent, and Independent, were involved in the operation. Both ships have been decommissioned due to old age and other factors.
HMS Montrose, a Duke-class Type 23 frigate, was retired in April 2023 and put up for sale by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). She failed to attract any sales interest after being listed for tenure, and has spent years sitting close to HMNB Portsmouth. HMS Montrose was originally commissioned in 1994, and the ship’s company celebrated 30 years of service during a retirement ceremony in Portsmouth.
HMS Westminster was retired in 2024 and towed into Portsmouth in September 2025. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson previously said she was brought into the management of the Disposal Reserve Ships Organisation, with “no definitive decision” being made regarding any future disposal plan.
Former defence secretary under the 2024 Conservative government, Grant Shapps, made the decision to take her and HMS Argyll out of service in May 2024. Long-held plans to renovate the pair were shelved, and a lack of available manpower was mooted in the national press as a reason behind the end of HMS Westminster’s career.
Efforts to replace the remaining Type 23 frigates with 13 Type 26 and 31 counterparts are progressing. Minister of defence readiness and industry, Luke Pollard, confirmed in a parliamentary written question that the Royal Navy will still receive eight Type 26 frigates from the late 2020s and early 2030s as planned, after build slots were handed to Norway.