labour slams ‘unacceptable’ delays to royal navy warship overhaulrefits of type 23 frigates by defence contractor bab**** are now taking up to four years10 Sep 2023 09:14
telegraph article partial extract
bab**** engineers took 49 months to declare hms iron duke seaworthylabour has slammed “unacceptable” years-long delays to overhauls of royal navy frigates, heaping pressure on new defence secretary grant shapps to clear the backlog.
refits of the navy’s type 23 frigates by defence contractor bab**** are now taking up to four years, official figures show, compared to 18 months on average a decade ago.
the increasingly long refits of the submarine hunting ships threaten to scupper the deployment of a vessel meant to guard aircraft carrier hms queen elizabeth.
figures revealed in parliament by defence minister james cartlidge show that the last five refits of type 23s by bab**** have taken an average of 39 months to complete.
the most recent one was completed in june after bab**** engineers took 49 months to declare hms iron duke seaworthy.
john healey mp, the shadow defence secretary, said: “the state of the royal navy and the condition of its ships increases concerns about the uk’s ability to fulfil its sovereign and nato requirements.
“at a time of war in europe, it is unacceptable that frigate numbers have fallen so low, made worse by the cost and time for refitting type 23 frigates.”
naval sources said the “ageing” type 23s were being worked even harder thanks to defence cuts, with the original fleet of nineteen frigates having been reduced by 40pc over the years.
mark francois mp, the former armed forces minister who obtained the figures on refit time periods, said: “bab**** are now one of the largest overall suppliers to the ministry of defence but their refit record for the royal navy is really woeful.
“ministers should have the company’s senior management in for an ‘interview without coffee’ and ask them what they intend to do about it, as it now materially affects the defence of the realm.”
refits are top-to-bottom overhauls of a warship, costing up to £100m per vessel in recent years. the type 23 ships were built for the royal navy between 1985 and 1999 and require recertification as fit for service every six years.
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