Cost of retiring Royal Navy ships HMS Albion and Bulwark laid bare as millions in taxpayer cash disappears
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Millions of pounds was spent to try and restore two former Royal Navy ships which have been retired.
The Ministry of Defence’s Annual Report and Accounts reveal that hundreds of millions of pounds has been lost due to HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark being decommissioned. Both Albion-class Landing Platform Docks were officially taken out of the fleet in November last year.
In the “constructive losses” section of the accounts, the retirement of both ships cost over £428m. This is listed as a book value, how much an individual asset is worth when appearing in a balance sheet. A book value shows the initial cost of acquiring the asset, which is then adjusted over time depending on depreciation, amortization, and other factors.
As previously reported in The News, then minister of state for defence procurement Maria Eagle previously said the MoD spent £132.7m on refits for HMS Albion and Bulwark since 2010. That figure did not include an estimated £72.1m cost to refit HMS Bulwark between 2022 and 2025, which was already underway when the decision was made to retire her.
She has been sold to Brazil after an agreement was signed aboard HMS Mersey at the Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEI) conference in London in September. The 19,560 tonne vessel is due to be renamed NDM Oiapoque once her renovations in Plymouth are completed. Her role will be to patrol what Brazil describes as the Blue Amazon, protecting natural and mineral resources while aiding in other operations.
News website Globo in Brazil reports that both vessels were sold for R$145m, the equivalent of roughly £20m. The Royal Navy did not comment on the sale price when last approached by The News. Speaking in the House of Commons last year, defence secretary John Healey previously said both ships were superficially kept on the books at the cost of £9m a year, despite there being no intention for them to return to sea.
Mr Healey said the decision to retire them and the other capabilities would save the taxpayer £150m over the next two years, and up to £500m over the next five. According to the accounts, the MoD also lost £66.77m of asset value by retiring HMS Northumberland, and just over £58m by decommissioning both RFA Wave Knight and RFA Wave Ruler. Efforts are being focused on building new ships, including the Type 26 and 31 frigates.
In response to the retirements of HMS Albion and Bulwark, a Royal Navy spokesperson previously said: “Neither HMS Albion nor HMS Bulwark were due to go to sea ahead of their out-of-service dates in 2033 and 2034. Their disposal shows that we are delivering for defence by disinvesting ourselves of old capabilities to make way for the future.”