Royal Navy: HMS Chiddingfold and HMS Bangor crash investigation continues a year after shocking collision

Portsmouth-based HMS Chiddingfold and the Scottish ship HMS Bangor collided off the coast of Bahrain in January 2024. National reports at the time said the latter vessel was “close to sinking”, with the galley and bedrooms being damaged and a hole being left on her side.

Rear Admiral Edward Ahlgren OBE, Commander Operations, issued a statement on the day of the crash. He said information around what caused the crash was still being established. A mechanical fault was reported but not further details were forthcoming. A Royal Navy spokesperson said there are no new updates regarding the investigation.

As previously reported in The News, the Royal Navy said qualified and experienced personnel were deployed to the UK Naval Support Facility in Bahrain to conduct an “accident investigation and damage assessment”. Shocking footage of the crash and pictures of the subsequent damage were shared widely on social media.

An estimated £25m was needed to repair both ships, with HMS Chiddingfold being back operational and on patrols in May 2024. She joined a Saudi Arabian task force which was monitoring key shipping and trade lanes in the Middle East. Royal Navy minehunters deployed in Bahrain regularly conduct such manoeuvres as part of the Combined Maritime Forces. Continued presence in the area is organised under Operation Kipion.

Last year, former defence secretary Grant Shapps dismissed any notion that the collision was caused by incompetence. He told Sky News: “Just as in aviation or many other walks of life sometimes accidents and incidents happen, there’s a full investigation under way. We don’t say it’s incompetence when we see an aircraft come down, a very rare occasion just as this would be a rare occasion, it’s right to leave the investigators some time to work out exactly what’s gone wrong. Something clearly did and we need to see what it is.”