Advertisement

The five-year plan

HMS Albion has relinquished the role of Royal Navy flagship to her sistership as she returned to Devonport to begin a five-year period of ‘extended readiness.’ The move is another part of controversial cost-cutting measures set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review. Official figures show that the Landing Platform Dock has cost on average £25 million a year to operate over the past four years. The financial cost of keeping her in reserve for five years is estimated at £2.5 million, with maintenance work to keepher in good condition put at £300,000 per annum.

With no plans to bring her back early, the cost of reactivation has not been estimated and, all being well, the ship will return to the frontline, replacing HMS Bulwark, in late 2016. Bulwark will then be refitted and placed in reserve.

Ships Montly - January 2024

Ships Monthly May 2025 issue out now

The May 2025 issue of Ships Monthly is out now, and is packed with all the usual news and outstanding articles and features, covering...
Advertisement

Related articles

Ships Monthly May 2025 issue out now

The May 2025 issue of Ships Monthly is out now, and is packed with all the usual news...

CLdN announces multi-million-pound investment in Killingholme terminal

CLdN has announced a substantial investment plan for its terminal at Killingholme on the River Humber. This ambitious...

Approval in principle for retrofitted methanol dual fuel Kamsarmax bulk carrier

ClassNK has granted an Approval in Principle (AiP)1 for the design concept of a retrofitted Kamsarmax bulk carrier,...

Le Commandant Charcot to complete full Circumnavigation of Antarctica in 2028

Ponant Explorations’ luxury icebreaker is about to achieve a new world first. In an unprecedented feat for a...