Our affiliated ship in the Royal Navy, HMS Dauntless, is now in the final stages of a refit at the world renowned shipyard of Cammell Laird at Birkenhead where she has been undergoing the Power Improvement Project (PIP). The ship’s company is currently being rebuilt both in Portsmouth and Birkenhead and is planned to move back on board in the early summer.

The new captain is Commander Peter Barfoot, who some World Traders will remember served on Dauntless five years ago; he and the crew are looking forward to carrying out sea trials later this summer after which she will be alongside in her home port in Portsmouth to recover the capabilities of her systems. After this, it is hoped that the ship will be in excellent shape to conduct a full work up in 2022.

During the prolonged absence from being fully operational, the ship’s company has not stood still and has been providing excellent support to the commercial partners in Birkenhead, training in the South, supporting other Navy ships at sea and very importantly helping with the NHS vaccination programme.

Once sea trials have been completed and the COVID situation resolved, hopefully there will be the opportunity to again meet up with our affiliated ship, officers and crew and renew our bonds with the Royal Navy, that are now entering their third decade.