Here we consider the impact of the unfortunate collision of two Royal Navy ships in Bahrain, seen in the wider context of peacetime naval accidents.
Chiddingfold V Bangor
On January 19th, the ship was being operated at a port in Bahrain. HMS Chiddingfold collided with her HMS Bangor. Strictly speaking, this was not a “collision” but a “collision” with an accident in which only one vessel was moving. Videos and images taken by officials at the Bahrain docks (closed to the public) quickly went viral on social media and were later picked up by mainstream news channels.
Chiddingfold had just completed extensive work on its propulsion system, carried out by a Bahraini contractor. She was assisted by two small tugs (Svitzer Dilmun and Svitzer Tiros) as she left berth ahead of Bangor. The weather was sunny and there was a gentle breeze. Upon disembarking from her berth she reversed and with considerable force she collided with HMS Bangor. Smoke emanating from the funnel seconds before impact suggests that both engines were commanded to go full forward, but instead went into stronger reverse, increasing the Alliance’s speed.I just had time to scream “Brace, brace, brace.” Warning of impending danger, sailors on the upper deck are seen reacting quickly.
Bangor suffered severe damage to her port side, with large cracks in her fiberglass hull. Other images posted by sailors showed the junior cabin in disarray and the bunk space distorted by the impact, suggesting possible internal structural damage. Fortunately, no one was injured and neither ship was punctured below the waterline. Although there may be damage to the rudder, Chiddingfold appears to have sustained less damage due to the ship’s weight, and the impact was sustained primarily on the starboard quarter, where it was much stronger than on the side of the hull.
The RN has already begun an investigation and the full facts will no doubt emerge, but reliable sources say the accident was caused by a mechanical failure in the propulsion control system, rather than a maneuvering error. That’s what it means. Various media outlets are now suggesting that the cause was that the wiring in the control system was reversed, resulting in the lever being set forward and the propeller reversing. This may be an oversimplification, but it is known that the Hunt family has suffered from failures of his throttle actuator in the past.
Now 40 years old, HMS Chiddingfold received a new Caterpillar C32 ACERT diesel engine during a major refurbishment in Portsmouth in 2018. BAE Systems explains: “The most extensive work package ever undertaken on the Hunt-class mine countermeasures ship’s plastic hull.” If a faulty engine control is found to have caused the accident, the investigation will likely focus on post-maintenance inspections and how thoroughly the system was tested before the ship left the wall. right.
Every navy has accidents.
All incidents are embarrassing for the navies involved and are quickly attacked by critics as evidence of organizational decline and widespread incompetence. Although most accidents are due to operator error and mechanical failures are less common, sailing has always been a demanding and sometimes dangerous profession, and even a small mistake or minor technical defect can lead to serious There may be consequences. While these events make headlines, the achievements of years of conducting safe, continuous, and sometimes highly complex operations spanning thousands of miles are overlooked. A reputation built over years can be tarnished in minutes.
In the 21st century, the RN has suffered at least four accidents resulting in significant damage to surface ships and a similar number of submarine accidents. This does not include minor damage from minor collisions that occur during maneuvers in ports that are not publicly known. The U.S. Navy has an equal or slightly worse war record in proportion to its much larger fleet. There is no room for complacency and we must continually learn and re-learn the lesson that attention to detail through maintenance, refined procedures, and ongoing training is the only way to minimize the inherent risks. need to learn.
Top-tier navies tend to be larger and more active, which puts them at a statistically higher risk of accidents. It is certain that there were other incidents in the navies of countries under the control of repressive regimes that went unreported or were covered up. This reinforces the false impression that Western navies are accident-prone. The open nature of democratic media and universal access to camera phones also make it increasingly difficult for authorities to conceal or control reporting. NATO countries have also provided further transparency and accountability by publishing detailed reports of commissions of inquiry after the incident. It would be surprising if China’s rapidly expanding navy did not experience undisclosed incidents. The Soviet/Russian Navy also has a long and spectacular record of disasters both in ports and at sea, many of which are now in the public domain.
What are the strategic consequences?
HMS Bangor was due to leave the RN soon. She is currently the only Sandown Class Single Role Minehunter (SRMH) remaining in RN duty. Her penultimate SRMH, Penzance, held decommissioning duties at Faslane on 9 January. The RN is accelerating its withdrawal from the service to create “budget space” to invest in autonomous demining capabilities. The first steps in this journey can be seen with the arrival of the first unmanned boat RNMB Harrier in Bahrain in March 2023 and the purchase of the MHC of her mother ship RFA Stirling Castle. Unfortunately, this capability is not yet fully mature, creating risks in withdrawing her MCMV before it is fully operationally proven, with replacements becoming available in large quantities.
It would be difficult to justify the cost of repairing HMS Bangor. She could be decommissioned in Bahrain and recycled, or she could be shipped back to the UK on a heavy lift vessel and scrapped. The only reason she might be repaired is if a foreign navy were interested in purchasing her. It should be noted that the Ministry of Defense has not yet found a way to dispose of the GRP Hunt or Sandown class vessels that could not be sold.
The circumstances of this accident are particularly unfortunate at a time when the UK is effectively involved in an undeclared war against Iran and its proxies in the Middle East. This is obviously very embarrassing for the Navy, and it comes at a time when there is a lot of negative news about the state of the Navy as a whole. The inevitable jokes, jokes and memes that followed may be mildly amusing, but they also add to the damage of an international repeat, and the Secretary of State probably wouldn’t have enjoyed describing the accident in public. is. More importantly, the Houthis could pose a further threat to shipping by laying mines in the Red Sea. In recent conflicts, there have been no reports of Houthi mine warfare activity, although in December 2020 a mine planted by the Houthis hit a cargo ship in the Red Sea.
As part of the MCMV force reduction, the RN had already reduced the number of ships forward deployed to Bahrain from four to three (HMS Chiddingfold, Middleton and Bangor). If there is a need for mine clearance in either the Persian Gulf or the Red Sea, the immediately available RN forces will be significantly reduced. Live trials of autonomous mine hunting using her RFA cardigan bay deployed as a mothership for RNMB Harriers and other her MHC boats capable of flying into theater may be the only alternative.