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Each vessel that flies the White Ensign has great affinity with those who served on them and the general public. Many Royal Navy ships bare the name of cities across the country, while also being affiliated to great naval bases such as Portsmouth.
The Royal Navy is looking to modernise its fleet and introduce new capabilities to replace the ones that are going out. Armed forces minister Luke Pollard previously stressed this in a Defence Select Committee meeting yesterday, stressing that there will be transition period for the force.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) often sells ships to other countries if they are functional, with many requiring restoration before being handed over. This is often to mitigate ongoing costs incurred to the taxpayer, especially if a vessel is not able to be used operationally. Closer diplomatic ties through such sales are also considered.
Many vessels are considered no longer seaworthy, and will be auctioned off to scrapyards across the globe - particularly those in Turkey that can take on a high proportion of ships. Here is a list of every Royal Navy ship that has been recycled or sold since the year 2000.
Vessels that have been decommissioned and do not currently have their future mapped out for them, such as HMS Montrose, HMS Enterprise, and others, have not been included.
Three vessels have no associated picture, so they are listed below:
- HMS Bridport: A Sandown-class minehunter, now known as EML Ugandi, which was decommissioned in 2005 and part of a deal to sell three minehunters to Estona.
- RFA Olwen: She was handed over for disposal on September 19, 2000. She was scrapped at the Alang Ship Breaking Yard in India.
- HMS Kellington: The Ton-class minesweeper was decommissioned in 1993 and was turned into a training ship for the sea cadets. She was closed in 2005 for safety reasons, before being broken up in situ by Able UK in County Durham.
21. HMS Blyth
HMS Blyth, Sandown-class minehunter, sold to Romania in 2023 after being decommissioned in 2021. She was known for being permanently stationed in the Gulf, scouring the seabeds for explosive ordinances | Royal Navy
22. HMS Pembroke
HMS Pembroke Sandown-class minehunter, sold to Romania in 2023 after being decommissioned in 2021. During her career, she safely disposed of a Russian mine off the coasts of Lithuania which dated back to the First World War. | Royal Navy
23. HMS Cottesmore
HMS Cottesmore, Hunt-class minehunter, was sold to Lithuania in 2008 after being listed for disposal in 2004. | Royal Navy
24. RFA Fort Austin
RFA Fort Austin, Fort Rosalie-class dry stores ship, was sold to Egypt in 2021. She was tasked with carrying food, ammunition and explosives during vital operations. | STRAP POOL AFP via Getty Images