Royal Navy: HMS Scott no longer being sold by MoD and will receive major overhaul for future ops, reports say
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An ocean survey ship which was put up for sale has now been pulled from the market by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
As reported in Naval Technology, plans to sell HMS Scott have been shelved and she is expected to be part of the Royal Navy fleet until 2033. The largest ocean survey vessel in Western Europe had previously been on the market since March 2023, organised by the Defence Equipment Sales Authority.
The Royal Navy confirmed at the time that they received a lot of interest in HMS Scott and other Type 23 frigates which had been decommissioned and up for sale. These frigates are due to be replaced with more advanced Type 26 and Type 31 vessels.
Naval Technology said HMS Scott will now undergo an extensive overhaul at A&P Falmouth. The APCL Group, a British defence partner for more than a decade, will carry out the project. The hydrographic ship has been in the service fleet for 26 years and also holds an auxiliary role as a mine countermeasure vessel.
Commanding Officer Samuel Nightingale told Naval Technology: “Over the course of her life so far she has probably surveyed a greater area of the seabed than any other vessel in history. A major docking period is required to keep her performance and availability at the highest level.”
The publication said the HMS Scott engineering work will include a full hull blast and recoat, and several onboard systems being replaced. New water management systems, sewage treatment plants, thermal oil boilers and LED lighting installations will also be fitted. Key components - four Cummins generators through the hull, replacement of internal doors and lifeboat davits - will be removed and overhauled.
The Plymouth-based vessel spent the summer of 2023 collating data from more than 500,000km2 of the North Atlantic, being deployed for 12 months. Her sonars can scan the ocean thousands of metres deep.