One of the Royal Navy’s most sophisticated warships has achieved the dubious distinction of spending more time being repaired than it has carried out operations at sea.
HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer, has spent six years and nine months on manouevres but by comparison has spent a total of seven years and three months undergoing repairs – primarily due to engine problems.
The Type 45s which cost over £1bn were described as ‘the backbone of the Royal Navy’ when the ships were first launched.
But it quickly became apparent that problems with the destroyers’ Rolls Royce engine cooling system meant that the ships were prone to losing power in hot climates, such as the Persian Gulf and the Caribbean.
The £1bn warships are essential to the defence of British waters and are equipped with Sea Viper missiles capable of shooting down energy aircraft missiles and drones
HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer, has spent six years and nine months at sea, but has spent over seven years undergoing repairs
HMS Daring, the first Type 45 to be launched, spent four years docked in Portsmouth before being towed to Birkenhead for a multi-million pound engine refit.
All Type 45s will have to undergo a refit known as the Power Improvement Programme at a cost of more than £160m. The repair work involves replacing two existing diesel generators with three new ones and modifying the high voltage system on each ship.
In 2016, a Defence Select Committee report attacked the MoD for ‘extraordinary mistakes’ in the Type 45 destroyers’ design, after it emerged they had faulty engines unable to operate continuously in warm waters.
A serving Royal Navy officer wrote that ‘total electric failures are common’ on the ships, according to an email seen by the BBC at the time.
Defence Commentator Col Phil Ingram said the problems with the Type 45 were typical of the dysfunctional procurement process within the Ministry of Defence.
He said: ‘The fact that you have a ship which has spent more time being repaired than it has on operations illustrates the problems with defence. The Type 45 engine problems have been known about for years and it is completely unacceptable that they have still not been resolved.’
The Royal Navy has also been embarrassed by mechanical issues suffered by HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.
In February this year HMS Queen Elizabeth was due to lead Exercise Steadfast Defender – the largest Nato exercise since the Cold War – but this was cancelled at the last minute after a problem with her starboard propeller shaft was spotted during final checks.
Two months later, the Royal Navy Flagship was also forced to undergo additional repairs after a fire onboard which caused damage to the crews’ sleeping quarters.
HMS Daring leaving Portsmouth harbour in 2010. In 2016, a Defence Select Committee report attacked the MoD for ‘extraordinary mistakes’ in the Type 45 destroyers’ design after it emerged they had faulty engines unable to operate properly in warm water
Two years ago, HMS Prince of Wales broke down as she was heading out for joint exercises with the US Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and the US Marine Corps.
The carrier came to a halt off the Isle of Wight and was brought back under tow into Portsmouth harbour for the problem to be identified.
A Royal Navy spokesperson said: ‘Given the challenging environment that ships operate in and need for upgrades as technology advances, all Royal Navy ships rotate through periods of maintenance, as well as operational cycles.
‘Maintenance periods can include routine repair, training, essential modification and upgrades and ships will, therefore, be at varying levels of readiness.’
