Royal Navy: "Unseaworthy" HMS Albion and Bulwark to be sold to cut costs as move slammed for slashing fleet

The minister for defence procurement, Maria Eagle, confirmed that HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark will be bartered away after being officially retired in November. Shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge, enquired about the disposal plan for both Albion-class Landing Platform Docks in a parliamentary written question.

Ms Eagle, Labour MP for Liverpool Garston, confirmed the sale will be government-to-government, meaning the vessels are unlikely to be scrapped and will be used by another country’s navy. “HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark are currently laid up awaiting disposal,” the minister said.

“Both ships require costly and time-consuming refits, and as such, were not considered a cost-effective use of taxpayers' money. The Royal Navy is exploring options to sell both HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark in a government-to-government sale.

“These vessels had, in effect, been retired by the previous Government. Their sale will save £9M a year in maintenance costs in addition to the receipt from the sale, unlocking as much funding as possible to invest in modernisation, as well as reinforcing relationships with international partners.”

Mr Cartlidge, Conservative MP for South Suffolk, slammed the move on social media and disputed the claim that they are “not genuine capabilities”.

Possible future of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark

Rumours surfaced in December that both ships will be sold to Brazil, with discussions between the Brazilian Navy and the UK taking place. Brazilian-based defence website Podero Naval made the initial report on December 19. The UK Defence Journal picked up the report and after approaching the Ministry of Defence (MoD), they said “a full suite of options is being assessed to ensure that the disposal achieves value for money and is policy compliant (safety, environmental and security)”.

Defence secretary John Healey criticised the previous-Conservative government during the announcement that HMS Albion and Bulwark - as well as HMS Northumberland - would be officially decommissioned. He said they were superficially kept on the books, despite them having no chance of returning to active duty.

Mr Healey said senior military officials and the operators of the Strategic Defence Review - the ongoing analysis of the armed forces and what the UK needs to bolster its national security - gave the go-ahead for the decision.

Lieutenant General Sir Robert Magowan KCB CBE reiterated the need to modernise the Royal Navy fleet during a Defence Select Committee meeting on December 17, 2024. He said: “In terms of the six retirements, the secretary of state outlined to the house the implications of that. Three of those involved vessels that were no longer seaworthy, so we were spending money against capabilities that were never going to be used operationally. There was a pretty strong case with regards to those three classes of ship.”