TWO of the Royal Navy’s most powerful warships have spent the past year stuck in port with maintenance problems, defence chiefs have admitted. The £1billion Type 45 destroyers have been docked in P…
HMS Daring has not spent a single day at sea since 2017 when it sailed for a total of just 85 daysJohn Healey said: 'Destroyers can’t do their job defending Britain from the dockside'HMS Daring has not spent a single day at sea since 2017, when it sailed for a total of just 85 days.Navy chiefs discovered problems with the engines of the six Type 45 destroyers in 2016 but it has taken taken years to solve the issue.
The ships’ engines were breaking down in warm waters making it difficult for them to serve in the Persian Gulf. Contractors claimed at the time that the MoD did not tell them the Type 45 destroyers would be spending a long time operating in warm waters.Four of the Navy’s 13 Type 23 Frigates also spent last year in port while a another only managed 10 days at sea.
HMS Portland had not left harbour since 2018 and has only been at sea for 41 days in the last four years andThe ships are some of the armed forces most expensive assets and have annual running costs of between £11 and 13 million a year.The ships are some of the armed forces' most expensive assets and have annual running costs of between £11 and 13 million a year - pictured HMS Daring