A historic minesweeper formerly belonging to the Royal Navy has sunk while moored at Vittoria Dock in Birkenhead, England where it has been laid up for years.
The Bronington, one of the last vessels in the Royal Navy’s Ton-class, was discovered to have sank sometime between Thursday and Friday.
A witness told gCaptain on Friday that he last saw the vessel afloat Tuesday, but by Friday the ship had partially sank next to the dock in an upright position and was starting to roll onto its side.
The HMS Bronington was launched for the Royal Navy by Cook, Welton, and Gemmel shipbuilders in Yorkshire, England in 1953 and remained in active service until 1988. In 1989 the vessel was purchased by the Bronington Trust, a charity dedicated to her preservation and display to the public. The minesweeper was brought to Salford Quays and later opened to the public in 1992, but ownership eventually transferred to Mersey Docks and Harbour Company and the ship has been been laid up at Vittoria Docks since 2011.
Interestingly, HMS Bronington was also the first and only ship commanded by Prince Charles, who served in the Royal Navy for over five years and spent nearly a year in command of the minesweeper in 1976.
Between 1953 and 1960, about 119 of the wooden-hulled Ton class minesweepers were delivered to the Royal Navy and later used by other navies. You can view the full history of the Bronington at HMSBronington.org.
Denmark has rejected a Japanese request to extradite anti-whaling activist Paul Watson over criminal charges dating back more than a decade, a Danish lawyer representing Watson said on Tuesday.
A 37-year-old crew member was saved after spending three harrowing days adrift at sea following alleged abuse aboard a fishing vessel. Afif Efendy, a crew member of the fishing vessel...
British oil and gas major Shell on Tuesday settled a London lawsuit it brought against environmental group Greenpeace after activists boarded a Shell oil production vessel last year.
December 10, 2024
Total Views: 1438
Sign Up Now for gCaptain Daily
We’ve got your daily industry news related to the global maritime and offshore industries.
JOIN OUR CREW
Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 109,794 members delivered daily straight to your inbox.
Your Gateway to the Maritime World!
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.