Stricken HMS Daring "crewing up for trials" ahead of plans to "re-join fleet" after 3000 days out of service
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A Royal Navy destroyer is nearing a return to the fleet after spending over eight years on the side-lines.
As reported in the UK Defence Journal, HMS Daring is “crewing up for trials and getting ready to re-join the fleet”. Yesterday (August 18) marked 3,000 days the Type 45 destroyer has spent out of service.
Years of refit and regeneration works has been spent trying to bring her up to scratch, becoming a regular fixture at HMNB Portsmouth. HMS Daring was originally withdrawn from the fleet in 2017.
“According to defence sources, HMS Daring has now begun crewing ahead of trials,” the UK Defence Journal said. “Planning indicates that shakedown could begin in December 2025, though January 2026 is considered the more likely timeframe. This would mark the ship’s first time at sea since leaving service more than eight years ago.”
Why has HMS Daring not been to sea for years?
HMS Daring was laid down in 2003 and launched in 2006. It took 2,307 days from the keel-laying ceremony to when she was commissioned in 2009. The destroyer was withdrawn for a major refit to be completed.
She was put through the Power Improvement Project (PIP), an upgrade programme to fix known problems to the Type 45s propulsion systems. The two original diesel generators have been replaced with three larger and more reliable units. These have been fitted to both HMS Dauntless and HMS Dragon, the former of which is currently deployed with the UK Carrier Strike Group alongside HMS Prince of Wales. It’s hoped that all Type 45 destroyers will received the PIP enhancements by 2028.
The UK Defence Journal said the PIP enhancements required “deep modifications to the ship’s machinery spaces”. “After Daring’s return to Portsmouth in 2023, the focus shifted to regeneration: systems testing, certification, and assembling and training a crew for a ship that had been inactive for years,” they added. “Each of these stages has contributed to the overall timeline.”
A Royal Navy spokesperson previously said: “We do not comment on the material state of our ships, but the Royal Navy continues to fulfil all of its operational commitments.”