Two British minesweepers collided while coming alongside in Bahrain on Thursday, with the level of damage observed suggesting the ships could be out of action for some time, video footage and the MoD confirmed. There is.
Two of the three Royal Navy minesweepers assigned to the Gulf were taken out of action, likely for a considerable period of time, after a dramatic collision in which they crashed into the side of the battleship Bangor as they lay alongside in Bahrain. And it seems. The cause of the collision has not yet been revealed, but video footage of the incident obtained by the MilitaryBanter-Fill Your Boots UK Twitter account shows Chiddingfold appearing to accelerate as he reversed towards Bangor. At the very least, this suggests that there may have been a mechanical failure rather than operator error. I had a responsibility.
Breitbart News understands that HMS Chiddingfold was attempting to launch, but did not respond to steering commands as expected and motored back towards land. British Defense Journal quoted a Royal Navy spokesperson as confirming the collision had occurred. They are reported to have said: “We are aware of an incident involving two mine hunters together in Bahrain. There have been no casualties as a result of this incident and as the investigation is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further.” .”
An investigation will be conducted in the future.
https://t.co/m1KMgNLhtt pic.twitter.com/2ZauWyBacw
— Let's prepare well (@MilitaryBanter) January 19, 2024
— Let's prepare well (@MilitaryBanter) January 19, 2024
Images of the aftermath published by the 'Fill Your Boots' group show a large hole penetrated through the hull by the stern of HMS Bangor's starboard wreckage, namely HMS Chiddingfold.
Unlike traditional warships, minesweepers are designed to use as little ferrous metal as possible to reduce magnetic signatures, an essential property when detecting and dealing with mines. Minesweepers are currently made of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), while previous generations were made of aluminum and mahogany wood to minimize the use of magnetic materials during construction.
However, GRP structures are relatively fragile and difficult to repair.this has been proven in 2021 when HMS Chiddingfold again collided with HMS Penzance in Bahrain. Her damage was estimated at £100,000 and the ship was out of service for three months. Britain has just delivered two more minesweepers to Ukraine.
Royal Navy warships are based in Bahrain and are part of Britain's long-standing commitment to help open up Gulf trade, including vital oil shipments, by maintaining sea lane patrols and clearing sea mines. As the Royal Navy says, this is important to “demonstrate our continued commitment to lasting peace in this difficult region and the protection of international trade flows”.
As well as the two mine sweepers involved in this week's collision, there was also a third minesweeper, HMS Middleton, frigate HMS Lancaster and British fleet auxiliary support ship RFA Cardigan Bay.
The deployment is not a direct part of the newly launched US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, but will take place in parallel.
