HMS Penzance to Get Multi-Million-Pound Overhaul

HMS Penzance has arrived in Rosyth – the latest of the Sandown-class flotilla of minehunters to receive a multi-million-pound overhaul. The ship follows her recently-revamped sister Grimsby into the ship shed on the Forth, where she’ll spend five months receiving upgrades, improvements and a general overhaul.

HMS Penzance has arrived in Rosyth as the minehunter becomes the latest to undergo a multi-million-pound revamp in the dockyard.

The ship will be out of action for five months as her ship’s company and experts from Babcock overhaul her from bow to stern and main mast to keel.

When she emerges from the impressive ship shed at the yard, among other upgrades, she’ll be the first Sandown-class vessel with an enhanced 30mm cannon – the ship’s main weapon.

The ship enters refit just weeks after her sister Grimsby emerged from the same yard; the latter is undergoing trials currently before rejoining the front-line Fleet.

Penzance’s crew brought HMS Pembroke home from the Gulf last summer as part of the rotation of ships and sailors in Bahrain; Pembroke spent three years in the region, with her ship’s company, Crew 3, in charge for the final six months or so of that marathon tour of duty.

After some much-deserved leave, the sailors returned to duties, taking over Penzance – whose crew have just deployed to the Gulf on the latest roulement of personnel.

Barely had Crew 3 become acquainted with their new vessel than they decamped from their home on the Clyde to the Forth.

“Refit provides an ideal opportunity for Penzance and her ship’s company to achieve a high state of operational readiness before our next deployment,” said Penzance’s CO Lt Cdr Chris Allan.

“The combination of Babcock’s upgrade of the material state of the hull and the Royal Navy’s first-class training of its sailors will ensure we are fully prepared to return to the Fleet in earnest in the very near future.”

After trials and further training once the refit is over, Penzance is due to resume her worldwide mission in the autumn when she’s scheduled to join a NATO force.

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Naval Today Staff, December 19, 2012; Image: Royal Navy