Advertisement

Ship that played vital D-Day role HMS Medusa will not be at 80th anniversary due to fuel costs

HMS Medusa was one of the first allied vessels to arrive on the beaches on June 6, 1944 – acting as a marker for minesweepers.

The Gosport-based vessel is the only one out of the nearly 500 ships in her class – a Harbour Defence Motor Launch – to be in their original condition.

However, the cost for volunteers to bring the ship back to Gosport after the initial trip to Normandy are too high.

The group want HMS Medusa to return to where she carried out her finest maritime mission, but it will cost £8,000 for 6,000 litres of marine diesel for the return voyage.

Alan Watson OBE, HMS Medusa’s captain, told a national newspaper:

“We’d love to go to France next year and think it fitting, but costs have risen. On top of the £20,000 a year we need just to keep her in a seaworthy condition we need another £10,000 and most of that is fuel costs.

“Many ships that took part in D-Day will be marking the anniversary in UK waters, but we think Medusa should be in France.”

HMS Medusa was built in Poole, Dorset in 1943. She set off from Portland Harbour on 4 June 1944, before the naval invasion was delayed.

The ship sailed again on 5 June to mark a location on the edge of a German minefield off Omaha beach for the invasion on 6 June.

Acting as a beacon, HMS Medusa allowed the minesweepers to cut a passage to the beaches, and as a marker for the invading force that followed.

The 72ft long vessel carried navigation equipment so precise that she was fitted with demolition charges in case she fell into the wrong hands. She stayed in the same spot for 30 hours.

Capt Watson said HMS Medusa is an “incredible survivor” and extra funds are needed for the ship to attend the anniversary.

He added that the UK’s maritime heritage is often overlooked and HMS Medusa is a “living, breathing part of that history.”

People can make donations to the Medusa trust through her website.

Ships Montly - January 2024

New boxboat Maersk Namsos

Japan's Imabari Shipbuilding successfully delivered Maersk Namsos, a 2,086 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containership, on 4 June 2025. This Panama-flagged vessel has a gross tonnage...
Advertisement

Related articles

New boxboat Maersk Namsos

Japan's Imabari Shipbuilding successfully delivered Maersk Namsos, a 2,086 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containership, on 4 June 2025. This...

ABB wins electrical and automation contract for next generation of Petrobras FPSO vessels

ABB has been awarded a large order by Seatrium, a global provider of marine engineering solutions based in...

Stena Futura successfully completes sea trials in China

Stena Line has announced that Stena Futura, the first of its new hybrid ferries destined for the Irish...

New Ulstein based fibre-optic cable-laying vessel

In June 2025 Megamas Resources announced a ship design contract with Norway-based Ulstein Design & Solutions AS to...