Type 23 frigate gets British farewell: Ex-Iron Duke arrives in Portsmouth for final time
A casual observer might have missed the former HMS Iron Duke's final entrance to Portsmouth Harbour.
A grey ship, on a grey sea, shrouded by driving rain, enveloped by autumnal gloom.
But, there she was. The Type 23 frigate entering the home of the Royal Navy, under the power of a seagoing tug.
The expensive refit
A sad end for a ship that has provided so much for the Senior Service and, by extension, the country.
Some might argue that it's a premature end?
HMS Iron Duke only came out of refit in 2023. In answer to a written parliamentary question, tabled on 26 May 2026, a minister confirmed that she had undergone a deep maintenance period lasting from May 2019 to May 2023 at an eye-watering cost of £102.9m.
That is a total of 208 weeks being upgraded and generally fettled for future use.
How, then, does she come to be out of service just three years later?
HMS Iron Duke's refit lasted longer than the time she then spent in service! Many people had expected the frigate to remain operational much longer, and there has been loads of speculation about why she has now been binned.
Out with the old and in with the new
The truth is fairly mundane and common to many of the withdrawn Type 23 frigates.
In written evidence, in follow-up to a Defence Select Committee hearing on 15 July 2026, the Ministry of Defence explained why the ship had been withdrawn, stating: "HMS Iron Duke was taken out of service because the ship required significant additional structural repairs and investment, which could not be justified given its [sic] remaining life service and the availability of other frigates to meet operational requirements."
In a separate statement, the MOD reflected on the life of HMS Iron Duke, along with HMS Richmond and minehunter HMS Chiddingfold, saying: "Retiring them now allows for reinvestment in the next generation of Type 26 and Type 31 frigates and advanced autonomous capabilities."
Out with the old and in with the new. When it arrives.
HMS Iron Duke will be remembered fondly by those who served on her.
The frigate operated around the globe; notably, in 2011, she took part in action off Misrata, Libya, destroying a gun battery.
And, last year, HMS Iron Duke tracked Russian ships in the English Channel.
Now, the vessel bides her time in Portsmouth, waiting for the day the scrapyard comes a-calling.
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