UK Defence Forum

SKB wrote:

How long would Hunt-class stay in service? Next 10-20 years?

The first replacement MCM ship is not expected before 2028 at the earliest, so it is anything from 10 years upwards.

Is it me, or could this "Minor War Vessels Centre of Specialisation" actually take two 150m plus hulls side by side?

Caribbean wrote:Is it me, or could this "Minor War Vessels Centre of Specialisation" actually take two 150m plus hulls side by side?

Its certainly big enough (60m wide, 220m long) to build a couple of T26's or T31's at the same time.

The ship hall was built over HMNB Portsmouth's 13 Dock when Vosper Thornycroft moved to Portsmouth in 2003 and built:
MV Triton (trimaran hull research ship)
All the Batch 1 River Class
All the Amazonas Class (Brazil Navy)

Then BAE "aquired" the hall after "merging" with VT in 2008 and built:
All six of the T45 bow sections
QE's LB02 bow section
QE's LB05 stern sections
QE's forward island
QE's polemast

BAE moved all ship building to Glasgow in 2013 (for the 2014 Scottish IndyRef). In 2016, the former Portsmouth shipbuilding ship hall was reopened for repairing minehunters and other small craft.

Thanks for the info - for some reason it had escaped me that they were quite so substantial. No idea why

You could probably squeeze up to six Hunt class inside the hall.

Lithuanian Navy Looking to Procure 3rd ex-Royal Navy Hunt-class MCM Vessel

The Lithuanian Navy (Lietuvos Karinės jūrų pajėgos) is looking to expand its fleet of Skalvis-class Mine Counter Measures (MCM) vessels (ex-Royal Navy’s Hunt-class) with the procurement of a third hull to be overhauled and upgraded.

...

The Royal Navy decommissioned two Hunt-class vessels in December 2017: HMS Atherstone and HMS Quorn. These two vessels are the most likely candidates for the Lithuanian Navy requirement.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... cm-vessel/

Wikipedia:

After spending a period alongside in extended readiness, Atherstone was lifted out of the water into the "Minor War Vessels Centre of Specialisation"; the former shipbuilding hall at HMNB Portsmouth in December 2016 in readiness to enter refit. However, in October 2017 it was revealed that the planned refit would not take place and Atherstone would be decommissioned on 14 December 2017.

The means of disposal for GRP Warships should already be known, I do not recall that HMS Wilton (The first GRP MCMV) was ever sold.

Scimitar54 wrote:The means of disposal for GRP Warships should already be known, I do not recall that HMS Wilton (The first GRP MCMV) was ever sold.

She was sold to Eseex Yacht Club and is now their clubhouse in Leigh On Sea.

So I discovered after posting!

HMS Ledbury returns after 3 years in Gulf

Containership Maersk Launceston and Greek Minesweeper Collide Off Piraeus



A Greek Navy minesweeper was badly damaged after colliding with a much larger containership off Piraeus port.

The incident involved the Navy vessel Kallisto and the Maersk Launceston, a Portuguese-flagged containership owned and managed by J.T. Essberger.

All 27 crew members of the minesweeper are safe and accounted. Two suffered relatively minor injuries, a statement from the Hellenic Coast Guard said.

The Kallisto has since been towed to the Salamis Naval Base.

Maersk Launceston was not damaged and has been detained by the Central Port Authority of Piraeus while an investigation in being conducted. Reporting indicates that the captain of the containership may have been arrested or detained.

https://gcaptain.com/containership-maer ... f-piraeus/

HS Kallisto was formerly HMS Berkeley (M40) and served in the RN from 1986 to 2000. Bought by Greece in 2001.

still floating after that speaks volumes about the design

Cant see her being repaired....

(Pireas Piraeus) 27th October 2020

Towing of the unfortunate N / THI Kallisto from tugs (translation)

In less eventful years....

(Pireas Piraeus) 6th January 2015

Hellenic Navy Kallisto M63 departs from Piraeus Port after one day stay due to Epiphany Celebrations on 6.1.2015 The video is taken by Petros Psarras

Goodbye, ex-HMS Quorn (M41) 1989-2017

Goodbye, ex-HMS Atherstone (M38) 1987-2017