Hole smashed in hull of Portsmouth based Royal Navy minehunter HMS Chiddingfold after captain tries to dock
A HOLE has been smashed in the hull of a Portsmouth based minehunter based in the Gulf, according to reports.
The Royal Navy’s 200ft minehunter HMS Chiddingfold suffered the damage when an experienced officer tried to dock the warship.
The Sun reported that lieutenant commander Simon Reeves smashed a hole in the minehunter after colliding with HMS Penzance twice at the UK naval base in Bahrain on March 16, not long after he took over the Hunt-class warship.
It is thought to have caused £100,000 in damage, and now HMS Chiddingfold, known as ‘Cheery Chid’, is expected to be out of action for months while she has repairs.
The 685 ton minehunter departed Portsmouth to join HMS Penzance in the Gulf in June 2020, where she embarked on a planned stint defending the critical sea lanes in the Middle East.
Lieutenant commander Reeves lives in Hampshire, and joined the Royal Navy as a warfare officer in 2006.