UK — HMS Lancaster returns to sea after major refit

HMS Lan­cast­er has returned to sea for the first time in 16 months fol­low­ing a major upgrade.

HMS Lan­cast­er leaves Portsmouth, fly­ing the flag of the Duchy of Lan­cast­er, fol­low­ing an exten­sive refit [Pic­ture: LA(Phot) Gary Weath­er­ston, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012] Source: Min­istry of Defence, UK Click to enlarge

The Type 23 frigate, named after the Duke of Lan­cast­er — an hon­orary title of Her Majesty The Queen, has ben­e­fit­ed from a £22m refit includ­ing super­struc­ture changes, refur­bish­ment of her engines and new weapon systems. 

The upgrade was car­ried out in Portsmouth by BAE Sys­tems and involved the fit­ting of four new diesel gen­er­a­tors, all four tur­bine engines being over­hauled, anti-foul­ing paint being applied to the keel, and the addi­tion of a tran­som flap at the stern which makes the ship far more fuel-efficient. 

Upgrades to her weapon sys­tems and sen­sors have includ­ed new ful­ly auto­mat­ic 30mm close range guns on either side of the ship and an updat­ed Sea Wolf mis­sile system. 

Lancaster’s Com­mand­ing Offi­cer, Com­man­der Steve Moor­house, said: 

“I feel extreme­ly priv­i­leged to com­mand Lan­cast­er as we emerge from an extend­ed refit peri­od with state-of-the-art weapon tech­nolo­gies, pow­er­ful engines and a ship’s com­pa­ny that are well-trained and highly-motivated. 

“I am extreme­ly grate­ful to BAE Sys­tems for their hard work in return­ing the ship to me ready for our return to sea and I look for­ward to putting Lan­cast­er to the test dur­ing our forth­com­ing peri­od of sea trials.” 

HMS Lan­cast­er also boast­ed a new flag which flew from her mast when she put to sea again. The flag of the Duchy of Lan­cast­er was proud­ly dis­played hav­ing been donat­ed by Paul Clarke, the Chief Exec­u­tive Offi­cer of the Duchy, and his wife Vanessa. 

Press release
Min­istry of Defence, UK 

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