22nd January 2024 at 3:15pm
A collision involving two Royal Navy warships caused about £25m worth of damage, Forces News understands, with the accident thought to have been caused by a wiring issue.
HMS Chiddingfold crashed into HMS Bangor while trying to berth in Bahrain Harbour.
HMS Bangor was already berthed when the incident happened, and no personnel on either vessel were injured.
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It is unknown how long HMS Bangor will be out of action for, while HMS Chiddingfold only suffered minor damage.
Forces News understands a wiring issue on Chiddingfold caused the crash. As a result HMS Bangor was left with a huge hole in a cabin above the waterline.
The Defence Secretary had previously denied the crash was the result of incompetence.
Grant Shapps told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that “sometimes accidents and incidents happen” adding that a full investigation is underway.
When he was asked if it incompetence was to blame, Mr Shapps said: “We don’t say it’s incompetence when we see an aircraft come down – a very rare occasion – just as this would be a rare occasion.
“It’s right to leave the investigators some time to work out exactly what’s gone wrong. Something clearly did and we need to see what it is.”
This is not the first incident involving HMS Chiddingfold, as in April 2021 she struck HMS Penzance when attempting to berth at the UK’s naval base in Bahrain.
The collision in the Gulf led to approximately £100,000 worth of damage.
Popular social media account Fill Your Boots shared the video of the most recent collision on X, formerly known as Twitter.