Revealed: How Many Navy Vessels Are Unavailable

A defence minister has confirmed the number of Royal Navy ships currently out of action and undergoing maintenance.

Minister for Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin was answering a written parliamentary question from Conservative MP Mark Francois on the number of vessels operationally available, where he provided a breakdown of the current status of different classes of ship.

Last month, HMS Monmouth left service bringing the total of Type 23 frigates to 12, of which four are at present undergoing maintenance, leaving eight operationally available.

The figures released by Mr Quin also showed that of the six Hunt-class mine countermeasure vessels at the navy's disposal, two were also unavailable.

Two of the seven Sandown-class vessels in the Navy are undergoing maintenance, while of the two assault ships HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion, one is operationally available.

All River-class and River-class II offshore patrol vessels are ready for operations, while there are several Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ships undergoing a period of upkeep.

With the news last week that HMS Diamond had to detach from the Carrier Strike Group 21 mission after suffering "technical issues", it was confirmed this month there was only one of the Royal Navy's six Type 45 destroyers operationally available.

However, HMS Duncan's crew has this week returned to the Type 45 destroyer after an 18-month refit at Portsmouth naval base.

Cover image: MOD.