HMS Monmouth has successfully undocked and moved out of the Devonport Frigate Refit Complex, marking the first major key date in her extensive upgrade period.
Monmouth, known informally as the ‘Black Duke’ after James Scott, the Duke of Monmouth, entered refit at the beginning of the year and after a significant amount of structural work on her hull is once again afloat and outside of the Refit Complex (known as the ‘Sheds’).
The Senior Naval Officer, Lt Cdr Andrew Ainsley said:
This event marks a key stage of the refit and is testament to the combined efforts of the Ship’s Company and our industrial partners.
The main effort now will be to get the team back on board before returning to the Fleet next year.
The Refit will see Monmouth receive a full Service and MoT of her engines, an accommodation refurbishment package as well as the latest updates to her weapons and computer systems; including the new Type 997 medium range radar, 4.5 inch and 30mm guns and Seawolf missile system.
The Marine Engineer Officer, Lt Cdr Laura Hodgson said:
This is an important milestone for the Ship and follows a huge package of hull and structural work.
There is a lot more work to be done now to complete the upgrade and ensure Monmouth re-enters the Fleet with the newest cutting edge equipment.
Engineering Technician Tom Young, from Weston Super Mare, said:
It’s great to see the Ship afloat, I can’t wait to get on board now and get to sea for the first time since completing my training.
Monmouth will spend the first part of next year completing her refit in Devonport before returning to sea to complete sea trials.
The latter part of the year will be spent undertaking training and endorsement prior to deploying in 2016.
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Press release, Image: UK Navy