Navy frigate leaves refit shipyard

Dec 13 2012

Royal Navy ship HMS Portland has sailed south to her base at Plymouth after a multimillion-pound refit during a 50-week stay in Scotland.

The Type 23 frigate had £27 million of work carried out at Rosyth dockyard which involved 260,000 man hours, almost 13 kilometres of cabling and 15,000 litres of paint.

The 133-metre, 3,500-tonne vessel has been installed with the latest technology including 19 major system upgrades such as anti-submarine sonar and gun replacements.

Commander Sarah West, commanding officer of HMS Portland, said: "I am very much looking forward to getting this fantastic ship back to sea to put her through her paces.

"The ship is equipped for the many future challenges which greet the modern fleet and we are ready to be with her every step of the way.

"It is an exciting moment returning a warship to sea after refit, we know that HMS Portland is in great shape for regaining full operational readiness early next year."

The project has been a partnership between the firm Babcock, the Ministry of Defence, ship staff and the Class Output Management (COM) team under the Surface Ship Support Alliance, resulting in the refit programme being delivered on time and budget.

Babcock project manager Russell Glancy said: "We have successfully met the challenges of this project, and applied our experience from previous Type 23 refits, along with strong partnering, to ensure delivery of this upgrade and maintenance programme."

HMS Portland will undertake three months of sea trials before returning to fleet and operational duties in early spring.