HMS St Albans has been formally rededicated to the Royal Navy’s fleet after a five-year period away from operations.
The rededication ceremony took place on 21 May 2024 at HMNB Portsmouth, marking the frigate’s return following an extensive refit.
The Type 23 Duke-class frigate began an intense overhaul in 2019 after 20 years of continuous service worldwide. The refit included several upgrades to weapons and sensors, replacement of all four diesel engines, and approximately 350 structural enhancements to strengthen the frigate.
“This renovation will carry HMS St Albans into the middle of the next decade, making her more efficient, reliable and able to meet the needs of sailors in the 2030s,” stated the Royal Navy.
HMS St Albans is now continuing her sea trials before beginning Operational Sea Training off the coast of Plymouth later this year.
Commander Helen Coxon, HMS St Albans’ Commanding Officer, highlighted the importance of the rededication: “Rededicating HMS St Albans is a significant milestone in our regeneration journey, as we transition from engineering project to warship.”
She added: “Regenerating a frigate is a challenging time, with complex trials on cutting-edge equipment. But it is the people and the support from their loved ones that is central to our success. It was fantastic that affiliates, friends and families of our ship’s company have been able to join the celebrations.”
Hi folks hope all is well.
This is good news and safe deployments for her and her crew. However, I would like to see a speedy build of Type 26 and 31’s. It would appear there’s urgency the way matters are in Ukraine and China and our interests need securing along with our allies.
On a navel theme I haven’t seen any main stream media (MSM)on the recent successful testing of HMS Anson. MSM quick enough to make a mockery of the recent Trident test!
Cheers
George
Course you’ve not George. That is our media for you. Put down, doom, gloom. That is all they are interested in.
Hi Daniele. On a more positive note, TVNZ finally ran Top Gun RAF on the telly. Great viewing, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Can’t wait for another series!
Huge respect to all at RAF Lossiemouth.
Morning Daniele, Morning Klonkie! Meanwhile here in SA we had an unannounced visit from a Chinese Navy Frigate in Capetown last week and it would appear that Ramaphosa and Co are increasingly cozying up to their powerful partner in BRICS! We are hoping(against hope) for saner government after the May 29 election!
Have to smile at the official name of the Chinese Fleet-Peoples Liberation Army Navy😄 -brings to mind the former United States Army Air Force!
After 5 years of work St.Albans should be in good shape but let’s hope the new frigate programmes are indeed accelerated-numbers are desperately needed by His Majesty’s Army Navy😉
Cheers for now.
Measures have been taken to speed up the Type 26 build, the Type 31 build schedule has been pretty optimistic from the start.
If you read the articles George did when he visited BAe on the Clyde it will tell you that they are supercharging build times once they move to the Frigate Factory. Source was MD of BAe.
As for T31 🤷🏼♂️ it’s all gone very quiet, I think they are running late.
To be honest it’s a bit baffling as Voyager has now been in build and not yet launched longer than it took the Danes took to get their Iver Huitfeldt frigates from 1st steel cut to starting trials.
Now get those NSMs fitted ASAP.
There’s a possibility that she has had at least the box launchers and any required plumbing fitted as part of this refit. The RN’s intent when they signed the order at the beginning of 2023 was for 3 vessels to be fitted ‘at pace’, and St Albans would be an ideal candidate if already alongside with contractors swarming all over her.
Not seen any photos of her post-refit to be able to confirm, so just a guess at this point. If she sails fairly quickly to Norway that might give us a clue that she might be taking missiles on board too!
Let’s hope so, given Somerset is laid up, The RN needs to get these tested and integrated as a priority.
AFAIK HMS Portland is the next T23 to get NSM fitted but no obvious signs of it yet, and HMS Dauntless will be the first of the 45’s.After those the plan has not yet been disclosed.
good news indeed, especially with the revisedifespan and operation expected into the 2030 period. I hope this will apply t those ships which have already received a LIFEX refit they are old, have been overuse yes, but it remains that the type 23 frigate is still one of the premier anti submarine warships in the world. and it’s ours
They are only remaining effective by spending hundreds of millions of pounds and up to five years per refit!
Structural enhancements or structural repairs; is there a difference?
It’s more likely structure replaced !
Well quite, replaced, but also surviving original structure strengthened, by welding, over plating and augmenting were needed etc.
By all accounts a lot of work, especially when you consider it was never intended to be worked on…..
Better than new! Good to hear.
Enough to meet and beat mid 2030s OSD ? 🙂
A lot depends on Kent, St Alban’s and Portland serving until their planned OSD in the mid 2030’s if some of the T26 are to be sold to Norway.
In the delay in ordering T26 is having an impact on fleet availability but also defence budgets; that is down to the Cons. How much has been squandered on refits now?
Ships that might have been sold, are probably destined to be razor blades and we lost any chance of competing in the American frigate programme – it would be interesting to know when the programme was first mooted because if it was before the postponement of the T26 programme, then that was an act of economic vandalism.
Rant over
The connie program is overtaking the LCS yet another American shipbuilding fiasco.
Proven design, FREMM is now not a FREMM. They have changed over 85% of the original design. They stated when they chose it they wanted only a 15% change.
3 years delay on first of class…and that will increase!
Currently single source of supply but maybe it will be built in another yard as well. Problem is that US Shipbuilding cannot get the people to do shipbuilding and the infrastructure is falling apart due to lack of investment.
Which is why on one of the Hudson Institute (?) the Brass were mooting foreign shipyards.
I’d still suggest that BAE push the T26 under a new Government… in both countries.
Agree- if we can get the frigate factory up and running should be no reason why we couldn’t build some type 26s at pace for our US allies. I’d also like a missile bus version of the type 26 touted as the type 83 destroyer programme. Keep the hull form and propulsion and just change the sensor fit and fit out a large missile silo. Job done, but crucially developmental costs should be massively reduced. A stretched type 26 frigate hull (circa 9000 tons) should be able to fit a 96 cell vls system and have enough power to run advanced air defence radars, dragon fire type direct energy weapons as well as phalanx, 40mm bofors etc.
That’s good news to know she’s back on the ocean waves ,hope all goes well .Lord knows she’s needed 🇬🇧
BZ to the good ship and crew of HMS St. Albans! 😊. PGMU mod presumably successful? 🤞 How many of the eight ASW frigates are reasonably assured of reaching originally projected OSD? The GP frigates have a useful role, but the RN ASW frigates could prove to be crucial in the foreseeable future. 🤔
Good, we’re well below anything like minimum escort numbers.
But I misread it at first & thought HMS Albion had just come out of refit!
Time to decommission and scrap !