HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, the Royal Navy’s Albion-class landing platform docks (LPDs), are currently laid up awaiting disposal, according to Maria Eagle, Minister of State (Ministry of Defence).
Responding to a question from James Cartlidge (Conservative – South Suffolk) regarding the disposal plans for the two vessels, Eagle stated: “Both ships require costly and time-consuming refits, and as such, were not considered a cost-effective use of taxpayers’ money.”
She added that “the Royal Navy is exploring options to sell both HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark in a government-to-government sale.”
The sale is intended to save £9 million annually in maintenance costs, with additional revenue generated from the disposal. The vessels, it is claimed, had effectively been retired by the previous government.
Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard stated:
“The previous administration had no plans for either HMS Albion or HMS Bulwark to return to sea ahead of their leaving service in the 2030s, therefore there has been no reduction in capability. The Bay Class are highly capable ships and, alongside RFA Argus, will continue to support Royal Marine operations until the introduction of Multi-Role Support Ships in the early 2030s.”
Brazil reportedly begins negotiations to acquire HMS Bulwark
Brazilian Interest
We previously reported that the Brazilian Navy is discussing acquiring HMS Bulwark. However, these claims remain unverified.
When asked for comment, the Ministry of Defence referred to a previous parliamentary statement noting: “As yet, no further decisions have been made regarding disposal plans for HMS Albion, HMS Bulwark, RFA Wave Knight, and RFA Wave Ruler. As with all decommissioned ships, a full suite of options is being assessed to ensure that the disposal achieves value for money and is policy compliant (safety, environmental, and security).”
HMS Bulwark, launched in 2001, is the second vessel in the Albion class. The ship has a displacement of 18,500 tonnes, a length of 176 metres, and a beam of 25.6 metres, with a maximum speed of 18 knots.
Designed for amphibious operations, Bulwark can transport up to 305 marines (or a maximum of 405), six tanks, or 30 light armoured vehicles. The floodable dock at the stern can accommodate four landing craft capable of carrying one tank each, while two side-mounted vessels can each carry 35 soldiers. The ship is also equipped to operate helicopters up to Chinook size, enhancing its versatility in amphibious operations.
The future
This development, if confirmed, would follow the Royal Navy’s decision to decommission HMS Bulwark and her sister ship, HMS Albion, as part of a transition to the Multi-Role Support Ship (MRSS) programme. The MRSS is intended to replace the Royal Navy’s amphibious fleet and ensure continuity of capabilities, with the first vessel expected to enter service by 2033.
The potential acquisition would align with Brazil’s ongoing efforts to modernise its naval capabilities, particularly in amphibious operations. If negotiations are indeed underway and prove successful, Bulwark would join the Brazilian Navy’s fleet as a significant addition to its amphibious and expeditionary assets, alongside the former HMS Ocean. However, the specifics of these reported negotiations remain unconfirmed.
As the story was first reported in Brazil and has since gained traction internationally, it remains essential to note that the claims are based on external reporting. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
There’s no transition to MRSS, more like a gaping hole. And how do they expect to get value for money out of ships they retired 10 years early
The announcement would have a vague veil of validity if
Argus and all the Bays were deployable – they are not; and
The 6 MRSS had actually been ordered or better still in build.
As it is a cavalry that could have been kept in life support has been cut to save a pittance. At the same time as China is launching its mobile barge docks.
This is a properly nutty moment.
Agree, I can understand getting rid of Albion and then using the savings and any sales revenue to keep Bulwark ready. Getting rid of bulwark as it was due to come back into service for 7 years, is basically bonkers. But I assume if it had wanted to the RN could have put the resources into keeping it.
Yes the barge docks are essentially the final red flag that china is going to do exactly what it says it’s going to do..invade Taiwan in 2027.
Literally everything now lines up.
1) Xi is a Mao zealot, who believes in the fact china must suffer to be reunited.
2) Xi has told his nation to be ready for war by 2027
3) xi has changed the laws around business being completely controlled in time of war, with all business ready so he’s ready to move the whole economy to a war economy with no notice.
4) Xi has hardened the economy to exterior influences, by internationalising supply chains and developing domestic and none western markets
5) the PLAN Now has 2 navies a regional attrition navy to essentially have MAD with the U.S. western pacific fleet, then a pacific/ blue water fleet that matches the USN in numbers if not quantity of surface combatants in the wider pacific and Indian Ocean.
6) 260 times the US shipbuilding capacity so it can rebuild and dominate the USN after a mutual bloodbath ( Xi would happily exchange the PLAN for the bulk of the USN).
7) a missile force that can easily flatten every U.S. military base in the western pacific.
In reality the armed forces of Taiwan are essentially irrelevant, they have no hope of stopped china once it starts…the only unknown is
1) will china decide the US will intervene and aim for a first day knock out of the US forces in the western pacific
2) if china decides not to attack the US on day one will the US then push into the western pacific and try to liberate Taiwan
If either is YES..it’s world war three and no matter the results of the initial western pacific campaign,it will go global and we will be dragged into it.
The threat to Taiwan and the implications for the world wide supply of microchips must be enormous? Isn’t that what China really wants, to grab the chip manufacturering facilities in particular and hobble the West? They’ll then have a complete suite of industrial capacities to dominate the world’s supply chain and economies. I’m not sure that US with Trump in the house and the rest of West and Taiwan and its neighbours will give in that easily. The will to fight for democracy and freedom is very strong and has more backbone even against the odds.
To be honest if it was the microchips China would not be bothering, they would simply develop their own industrial base in that area ( which they have) and they would not drive the world into a world war. Any conquest of Taiwan will shatter its industrial capacity anyway. No for China this is a battle for its very soul its core. From the Chinese view point they will only fulfill their national destiny when they have reunified with Taiwan. Essentially this is generations of communist brain washing, they must retake Taiwan… devotion to communism and the teachings of mao as well as the profound belief in the romance of the three kingdoms “The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been” this along with the requirement for a great suffering to reunite and make China great is what drives Xi and the communist party… it’s essentially their religion and they are as convinced of this as any jihadist in regards to the Muslim lands. Xi is essentially pretty much a zealot.. his story is both amazing and scary.. his parents were generals in Maos army, but were arrested for treason, Xi and his sibling were threatened with death but then cast onto the streets as children , driven to such misery his sister killed herself, he was then rounded up as part of the cultural revolution and sent to be a child serf who work on a farm, he escaped back to the city was arrested then sentenced to hard labour and political re-education.. a few years later he returned to the farm with nothing but a box of books on the writings of Mao.. he then spent a few years trying to Join the community party, he had such belief that even with his politically suspect past they gave him membership, a few years later he was sent to university as a peasant student to study international communism and Mao.. after this he took on all the most difficult assignments in the party and his zealotry drove him from a political prison and reeducation to rule the party that destroyed and remade him… he’s not going to war for semi conductors he’s going to war for the scariest reason humanity faces… utter belief that he must for his cause.
I can’t see a reply button to your posting below Jonathon so doing it from here. Great take on it and historical detail. I don’t know if we can simply say that the CCP thought, vision and actions has totally brainwashed all the population is or that its 100% all of China. I can’t see the Chinese world snd westernised diaspora being like minded like the mainland political elites at all. Some maybe. I think most of the world likes its freedoms and would want it for others too. Whatever conflict might arise there’ll be a huge reality check all round and I don’t think there’ll be a semi delayed entrance by the West like with Ukraine. I read that Taiwanese electronic chip componentry is 80% of the world’s supply? That is huge, almost a single source! Knock that out or try to grab it is going to result in an almighty bun fight!
Ones just finished a costly refit. At this point Brazil will have a better amphib fleet than the Royal Navy.
At this point there’s nothing notable about our navy, Destroyers have great radars, when they get to sea, submarines are excellent hunter killers, when they’re not broken. Italy is going to have more towed array ships than us by nearly double, France has a far larger and better equipped OPV fleet for presence missions, we’ve got carriers with 8 planes, no actual amphibious fleet and our replenishment fleet is now paltry.
Italy has the best navy in Europe.
Id agree at this point, they have a long term plan and a consistent ship order
It is amazing what you can achieve if you order on a regular drumbeat and don’t aim for perfection on everything.
The Italian ships are far from perfect, their ASW will be nowhere near T23/26 Merlin, but at least they actually are on order or exist and they may not have massive stockpiles of missiles but at least the VLS is in the ship from the get go.
This is where I do see T31 as a [good] break from the attempts at perfection that lead to T45 and to a lesser extent T26. QEC was also a grown up compromise to get a good big hull that other things could be added to.
@ supportive, The Italian navy is a model of what you can have if you focus on drumbeat and end cost over in year savings, when you consider each FREMM only costs .6 billion for a do everything warship, armed with ASW weapons, land attack and aster 30 missiles. And each PPA frigate costs .45 billion ( again with very good armament and aster 30 NT).
I would agree that an ASW FREMM are not quite up to a T26 in ASW …but when they have finishes they will have 8 silenced FREMM with tails and then around 7 other frigates with tails and a further 4 frigates and 4 destroyers with reasonable hull sets…that’s a the same number of high end ASW as the RN will have but with an added 15 escorts than can all add competence and mass to the screen if needed.
In regard to AAW the Italian navy is going to be a lot stronger than the RN, with 2 heavy destroyers/cruisers of around 14,000 tonnes that will essentially be the best AAW platform on the planet. Armed with the most advanced radar , around 100 silos aster NT, 2 meduim guns armed with guided rounds… backed up by 2 updated horizons with aster NT, then supported by the 2 FREMM evo and 7 PPA with Aster 30 NT and very modern long range radar, and then the other ten FREMM with only aster 30 and long range radar…that’s 23 ships that can engage out with long range area defence sensors and radar…with every single of those 23 escorts also armed with 2 meduim water cooled guns ( 76mm to 5inch ) all armed with guided AAW rounds…
Essentially Italy got a fleet of 23 modern 6000-7000 ton “do everything pretty well” ( including long range air defence ) frigates for around 11 billion pounds…that’s quite frankly a message on how powerful an asset a state owned ship builder working well with a government that invests it is.
” their ASW will be nowhere near T23/26 Merlin,”
Based on? They have the same ship sonar, They have Merlin or the mor recent NH90 which is much more modern equipped than RN Merlin, electric propulsion too for their 10-12 FREMM.
Italy does things differently to us, very old fashioned but they actually have Navy Laws and Parliament has to fund them. They also have a very different attitude to us regarding priorities and flexibility with timescales.
U.K. attitude to export of T26 (and lots of folks on here), Norway may want 5 but not till after we get ours so probable result buy elsewhere.
Italian attitude to exports of FREMM and Paulo Di Theron classes. You want them, fine have the next ones off the line and we will just reorder and wait. Result they actually ended up being able it afford more FREMMS, fund a follow up version and have more Frigates than the RN at a lower cost.
Stupid little Britain’s attitude is don’t export if it delays our needs, which is positively comical when you consider that the end result is 5 T26 doing exactly the same job as ours, in exactly the same water but paid for and manned by Norway.
And it might bring the unit costs down to fund a small B3 T26 buy.
Tbf we’ve scuppered ourselves by having a dying frigate fleet. Can’t afford to give that many away
But in reality the Italian Navy can afford that because its government orders well in advance and pays on time for swift delivery.
If the UK doesn’t want to take advantage of any possible cost reductions for maybe a couple more T26s then it should be affordable to have even a 1-3 increase in the T31 fleet with some enhanced AAW, ASW or MCM ability?
“Stupid little Britain’s attitude is don’t export if it delays our needs”
I think it is not correct to criticise that decision.
Italians can sell their own because they have a modern navy.
Instead RN is with frigates from XX Century, some that even had to be retired because they are breaking apart.
The criticism should be handed to whom let the RN frigate fleet reach decrepit status.
Even before the retirement of Albion and Bulwark Australia arguably had more amphibious capacity than the UK with the RANs two Canberra Class LHDs and one Bay class LPD.
The ADFs capacity to land troops and vehicles over the beach is set to increase significantly. The first of 8 Landing Craft Heavy based on Damen’s 3,900 tonne LST 100 for the Australian Army is commencing construction in Western Australia in 2026. Each of the 8 is equivalent in to the old HMAS Tobruk (RNs Roundtable class) Together they provide an additional 31,000 tonnes of amphibious capability.
This is in addition to the 18 Landing Craft Medium for the army also already contracted to be built in Western Australia. At 500 tonnes displacement they will deliver 90 tonnes of vehicles across the beach.
The RAN currently operates 12 LLCs (4 per LHD well dock) for ship to shore transfer (1 Abrams or 2 Boxers). All up the ADFs investment will deliver an amphibious fleet of over 111,000 tonnes displacement.
In effect the RAN will have an amphibious capability able to land a force the size of the entire Royal Marines and their equipment over the beach or by helo in a single wave.
Should read ‘ADF (Army and RAN combined) will have an amphibious capability able to…’
More accurately a single operation rather than a single wave.
Better we should gift them to the JEF than sell them to a neutral country in South America.
They can’t run em, Netherlands is having to lay up one of their LPDs
If we only had one on the go at a time, it would take fewer than 50 crew each from 7 countries to create a permanent command facility for the JEF.
Having half a dozen nations running 1 ship is hardly a good or sustainable ideas
Yet we run groups of ships of multiple NATO countries all the time, rotating leadership. We have US fliers on our carriers and Dutch marines working with ours in the littoral groups. FOST trrains and tests alliance ships from varios countries. Closer integration of allies would be one of the major attractions, so we each learn better how the others think.
No real surprise.
All our knackerd, “Sunset” capability equipment like the Hercs which I’d read were bought by Turkey.
Still, Rachel from accounts will be happy.
Hi M8, I do wonder if the RAN are sniffing around, they snapped up a Bay and it’s a Billy Bargain.
You could be right. I might be wrong on this but I think the Aust government had cut their order for 2 similar new Navantia assault style ships in an earlier budget so looking at getting two good second hand might be a good alternate interim purchase and they’d have experience with fixing up ex-RN vessels.
They’ll be sold for peppercorn and then needed for operations 6 months later in true MoD style…
One has completed a refit at a substantial cost to us taxpayers , yet the government has told a blatant lie about both not suitable for sea , yes one which need the refit ! Liar’s the lot of them , waken up Britain, the loonies are in charge of the asylum!!
Tbf previous government wanted to scrap them as well, they all suck
Previous government was going to leave Bulwark at minimum maintenance levels with Albion left to rot but nominally on the active list.
That way there was some way to at least pretend we had an amphib capability and it could be regenerated a lot fast than building from scratch.
If is amazing what can be achieved in double quick time with a little pressure from an enemy of the state!
What would worry me is getting the HV propulsion going after a decade of inactivity, Electrics are notoriously flakey in a salty environment if left inactive for a while.
Wave knight went to bed warm.
No surprise really. Shame they won’t take both.
I think the best line has to be:
‘The previous administration had no plans for either HMS Albion or HMS Bulwark to return to sea ahead of their leaving service in the 2030s, therefore there has been no reduction in capability’.
So in essence there was a loss a capability under previous bunch of morons but we are also stupid so we will not reverse it.
Sir Humphrey Appleby would be proud.
A lot of the blame for the dire state of the RN rests with RN leadership. They make the case for what they want and then argue out specifications and cost with the Treasury before final approval. The RN wanted to be a global force, a mini USA, so we got aircraft carriers with sortie rates to match US supercarriers; we abandoned conventional submarines in favour of an all nuclear force; and copied the USMC in building large LSDs.
Without the burden of nuclear and supercarriers, Italy has managed with a much smaller budget to create a well balanced fleet, capable not only of defending its territory but also projecting force further afield.
Until the RN fully embraces the reality that it is not a global force and doesn’t need to be, the fall in numbers and relevant capabilities will continue.
OK so how would Italy operate as a blue water navy without SSN?
They can’t and would be sitting ducks without an SSN in contested waters.
OK we have had too many Astute on the wall but this is a fixable issue and likely down to shortage of parts and dry docking capacity/manpower.
True, but Italy is fulfilling their plans far better than we are while having some decent blue water capabilities
I’m not sure we are comparing like with like, they tend to operate in the Med not the Atlantic so distances are less and to be honest their AIP Subs are probably better suited to that environment than an SSN. They have 4 AIP / 4 old SSK and 4 more AIP ones being built.
That’s the trouble with this site. It is always what the RN could do and not what it does. Of course the MM is a blue-water navy. They have ships at sea in quantity. Over the last year or so we have failed to have one SSN at sea. It is rather like saying we have two carriers and the French only have one. Yes but that is a nuclear carrier with a full flight deck of jets and E2 ASaC. We don’t have another tankers to deploy a 70,000 tonne carrier at an operational tempo. If that is the limit of your reasoning, and I have seen you post similar many times, I would give up as you obviously have no understanding of the fundamentals.
If we don’t want to be a global force, we might as well give up on defending our various bases around the world. Then if something of ours needs to be defended, if we want to evacuate our citizens or help an ally, we will have to ask someone else to do it.
If they say “no”, then someone may have to explain to the public why their relatives were left to die. I wouldn’t want to be in Westminster if that day comes.
My number one worry with Labour, which ive articulated here before, giving up our vital, strategically placed overseas bases, as they ‘re remnants of Empire and thus wrong to their ideology.
D Garcia was first, and my concern is still open as far as I’m concerned.
Italy did not waste tens of £Billions on desert wars or have a nuclear deterrent programme to fund.
For example the additional £2Bn to slow the carriers build because of budget pressures caused by the Middle East wars. We then later wasted more on an abortive catobar conversion.
Deferment of the Trident replacement and associated infrastructure upgrades. This runs into the £Bn’s but is largely hidden from scrutiny for security reasons!
How much do you think a 7 year refit costs of a Vanguard class SSBN including replacement of the reactor. All works never envisaged for this class of sub. The waste is criminal and inflicted on the Navy by useless politicians.
Nuclear weapons are cheap. If we didn’t have the SSBN programme we wouldn’t have the SSN’s. Some here think possessing SSN is the measure of a blue water navy. If we didn’t have nuclear weapons and nuclear submarines we would no longer be a blue water service to some here. Japan and South Korea have better navies than the RN. Neither are nuclear. But I can hardly say either of them are green water navies.
Being able to build and maintain a nuclear submarine is a true measure of a country’s industrial capacity. To scrap the programme would cost us too much in industrial terms.
I am not advocating abandoning the deterrent but given it takes up about 12% of the defence budget that means our useable forces are still funded from just 2% of our GDP so no wonder they are totally inadequate.
I understand the link between a civil nuclear capability and nuclear weapons but I am not convinced if we lost the bombers we couldn’t manufacture hunter killers. Both the Aussies and Brazilians it seems will manage to achieve this albeit with help from others.
Personally I do think SSNs are the ultimate weapon at sea and are the benchmark of a navy that can go anywhere and just one is enough to worry any fleet but just 7 is not enough but is symptomatic of an underfunded navy.
Our problem is we allay go for the high spec and then end up cutting bits off so the product is not joined up . We then add poor intermediate fits as MTE which means industry takes the mod to the cleaners on cost. Compare wester European ff/dd cost to the UK and you will see we pay almost twice as much for a worse product??????
The Tories may have never planned to put them to sea again, but they had no plan to sell them either. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
I suspect they did..there have been constant reports of them being axed…they come from some place.
So ships that are too expensive to maintain are perfectly affordable to a third Country to buy and well maintain. Mind you Brazil is a growing economy so maybe they have more money than the 6th biggest economy in the World. That status seems increasingly irrelevant in World affairs in reality.
Just imagine if the government was as diligent with other department budgets as they are with the MoD! So instead of LPDs, 1000s on welfare get their mobility benefits from BMW which they could otherwise never afford.
One country ( ours) misguided penny pinching decision is another country’s bargain. This story has been repeated that many times it is no longer funny.
Next the number of MRSS ships will be reduced then cancelled outright. An all to familiar story,
What these clowns in charge of procurement/planning/admirals/shipbuilders need is a televised session in which they’re not allowed to use management speak and have to give answers to questions and be accountable to the answers they give. Incompetence and plain dishonesty is not a good trait yet these clots have managed to get up the ladder. Unbelievable.
Boom.
All this talk of Italy. Italy is not an island nation we are. We need a diverse and powerful blue water navy ,which includes a capability to land royal marines if necessary. The rfa is for supplying not not amphibious landing ,the boot necks need there own class of specialized ship ,like we have had since fearless and intrepid.
Selling amphibious assault ships but we are paying maritus millions for the chagos island pathetic
Plenty of kickbacks for the Chagos deal….
China are looking for assault ships for their imminent invasion of Taiwan and the good news is the Chancellor of the soviet socialist republic of Brittania is already in Peking, cool or what ?
Make peace you imbeciles
❤️☮️
We are not communists, but if we had ever learnt, we should have been a great proficient. Unlike the Soviets who were totally incompetent communist.
China are not communists either. For them it is just a brand.
It would be nice , just for once , if assets were retired when a replacement has been commissioned not years before leaving a capability gap . These ships are only 20 years old and probably have another 10 years service left in them . Its high time the government properly funded the military so valuable assets dont have to be taken out of service just to save money
Just wish we had navy plus other warned forces we can be proud of
Anything that is sellable would need to be in good condition. But they were retired as they were too old and in poor condition (according to those we are supposed to trust). Seems obvious that something is off here.
Going to love to see the spin when Trump Margin Calls Europe for 5% of Nato Spending especially as the last government always trotted out how we were one of the only members who pays 2% which was smoke and mirrors considering the pensions and Trident.
Just an aside selling potent kit to a neutral power that is actually a friendly power to a nation that wants a bit of our real estate ( and supports that nation in that real estate grab) could just if we are unlucky come back to bite one day. It’s not a completely zero risk that a South American coalition decides it wants the Falklands especially if all the resources it provides access to become exploitable.
Argentinian is completely unable to take the Falklands by force..but a regional alliance, would have the capability, especially if supported by china.
Simple (or simplistic) question – why is it uneconomical for the RN to maintain and upgrade a ship, but it can be sold to Brazil who, presumably, feel it is economically viable?
This government of ours 🙄 💩
The task to finish the scrap of the the armed forces will be vital for this government of traitors, maybe Brazil will be also the home for one of the two carriers when it is sold after the Strategic Defence cuts (Review). Wait and see.
Brazilian Navy – the Royal Navy old boys team.
Jonathan, a good appraisal as to the mindset of President Xi. The PLAN Nay however is still at a disadvantage however – partially in technology but more so in numbers. The combined US Pacific fleet, Japan, S.Korea India and Australia are significantly greater than China, major surface warships, carriers and SSN/SS.
Xi needs to take a good read of history of Japan at their entry o fWW2 .Even with a (doubt full) successful first strike against all these allies in the medium term -they cannot win.
Really, really, really, (Baldric) really, really, didn’t see this coming m’lord. However, we’ll have a cunning plan…… Maybe. 🤔🕳️Btth.