HMS Bronington: Last of 'wooden walls' former Royal Navy warship once captained by King Charles set for refloating and tender bids
EFFORTS continue apace to save a former Royal Navy warship once captained by King Charles – with her set for refloating before her restoration is put out to tender.
It was concluded by a dive survey in June that HMS Bronington, which has been left rotting and submerged at Birkenhead Docks, Merseyside, can be saved.
Bronington, a Cold War-era minesweeper and one of the last naval ships to feature a wooden hull, underwent the survey to establish the state of the hull before a decision was made on salvaging her.
The assessment by Briggs Marine was seen as pivotal in whether efforts to save the sunken vessel were realistic following a campaign by the Bronington Trust.
Now following that positive assessment, Mike Mcbride has revealed further good news. ‘It has now been further confirmed that with some preliminary work on the watertight integrity of the hull and internal debris/silt removal that she is salvageable and can be re-floated,’ he said.
‘The trust are awaiting an estimate from Briggs Marine to re-float the vessel and then it is envisaged that because of her weakened condition she will be towed to the nearby Cammell Laird shipyard for landing to restore her structural and watertight integrity.
‘To satisfy the competitive tendering conditions required by a charity her restoration will then be put out for tender to other UK shipyards including BAE Systems in Portsmouth.’
The trust also hopes to follow in the footsteps of the steamship Daniel Adamson, affectionately known as the Danny, by applying for charitable status this month.
The tug boat, which like Bronington is also registered by National Historic Ships UK, was awarded £50,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund before being handed £3.8m for restoration.’We are confident that we can follow a similar trajectory,’ Mr McBride said.
King Charles, who was in Portsmouth in July to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War, said: ‘It is truly humbling to learn of the efforts you are going in order to recover this historical naval vessel.’
The trust’s Go Fund Me crowdfunding efforts have now raised over £10,000. Mr McBride added: ‘However, we need much more money to refloat her and commence restoration.’
If the project fails all money will be donated to service charities.
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To donate go to: gofundme.com/f/help-restore-hms-bronington