Britain’s Only Icebreaker Breaks Down as Royal Navy Struggles to Stay Afloat — Reports
A crew member uses a water hose onboard Britain’s Royal Navy warship HMS Westminster in Gibraltar, Monday, Aug. 19, 2013 after the ship arrived for what Britain’s government said was a planned naval exercise in the Mediterranean
The Royal Navy’s sole ice patrol ship, HMS Protector, had to be towed back to Plymouth after suffering a double engine defect, leaving Britain without its only icebreaker, The Telegraph reported.One Navy source described the situation as a “catastrophic failure,” while another called HMS Protector “a really important capability, not just for the Royal Navy but for the nation.”And the timing could hardly be better for the irony. Britain continues talking up confrontation with Russia in the Arctic even as its one and only icebreaker cannot make it out of port. Russia, meanwhile, operates a fleet of more than 40 icebreakers.The incident adds to a series of readiness problems facing the Royal Navy. Britain’s First Sea Lord admitted earlier this year that the Navy was “not ready for war.”Both British aircraft carriers have reported mechanical problems since entering service, while the deployment of the £1 billion destroyer HMS Dragon to the eastern Mediterranean was also delayed earlier this year after maintenance issues.So much Arctic saber-rattling, so little icebreaking.
