Royal Navy: Future of HMS Walney uncertain after MoD fails to attract sales interest in minehunter

HMS Walney, which was retired from the fleet in 2010, was put up for sale by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). A freedom of information request to the Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) arm of the MoD revealed the Sandown-class minehunter was up for tender alongside three other retired ships.

No bids were made for the vessel, which was commissioned into the Royal Navy fleet in February 1993. There are currently no plans regarding the disposal of the ship. HMS Monmouth was also part of the auction, where she received two bids from Turkish-based naval recycling companies.

A Royal Navy spokesperson said both ships were too costly to repair. They said: “Both HMS Monmouth and HMS Walney were put up for sale as they were beyond their intended lifespan, uneconomical to repair, and both would have required a time-consuming and costly refit to remain in service.”

HMS Walney has been left in a similar situation to HMS Montrose, which also failed to attract any interest from bidders. Leyal Gemi Sokum Sanayi Ve Ticaret Ltd Sti and Sok Denizcilik Ve Tic. Ltd. Sti were the firms involved in the process. The former describes itself on its website as a “ship dismantling and recycling company”, with the latter being in the same industry.

Both firms submitted bids for the Type 82 Destroyer HMS Bristol, with the vessel likely to be scrapped. HMS Montrose did not receive any interest. HMS Walney has a varied history of operational deployments.

Alongside HMS Atherstone, she discovered a 450kg Second World War bomb while conducting survey along the River Mersey. It was announced on December 16, 2009, that the 600 tonne minehunter would be decommissioned and retired from the fleet. A ceremony took place at her home port of HMNB Clyde on October 15, 2010. She is affiliated to Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.