HMS Dragon’s mission to Cyprus ‘is being delayed as a result of dockyard solely works 9 to 5, Monday to Friday’
The deployment of HMS Dragon to Cyprus has been delayed amid claims from union officials that the naval base responsible for its repairs only operates on a ‘nine-to-five, Monday-to-Friday’ schedule.
The destroyer’s mission to safeguard a British base in Cyprus, following last weekend’s Iranian drone strikes, has been stalled as crews scramble to finalise essential welding and maintenance.
According to the Prospect union, these delays are a direct result of ‘cost-cutting’ measures introduced by the Ministry of Defence and private contractor Serco.
The union alleges that the Portsmouth naval base has abandoned its around-the-clock staffing model in favour of a standard 9-to-5, weekday-only operation.
General secretary of Prospect, Mike Clancy, said: ‘Our members are stepping up to help, but such a vital service shouldn’t be dependent on goodwill from staff. Out-of-hours support should be locked into the contract.
‘This contract has failed its first real encounter with a serious crisis, and must be urgently reviewed and rectified.’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised over deciding to deploy HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, to protect the RAF Akrotiri base in the Eastern Mediterranean on Tuesday, more than 72 hours after the conflict in the Middle East began.
It comes after RAF Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian drone fired from Lebanon on Sunday, raising major concerns about the standard of local air defences.
Type 45 air defence destroyer HMS Dragon (pictured loading with missiles) will not be ready to set sail for the Eastern Mediterranean from Portsmouth until next week
HMS Dragon, a Type 45 Daring-class air-defence destroyer warship, is pictured moored at the HMNB Portsmouth Upper Harbour Ammunition Facility (UHFC), outside HM Naval Base Portsmouth, on the south coast of England
UK Defence Secretary John Healey meets F-35 pilot who shot down a drone as they walk past British typhoon and F-35 jets at RAF Akrotiri on March 5
Officials said the damage was minor, but on Thursday, it was revealed that the drone hit a hangar used by the US for U2 spy planes flying high-altitude reconnaissance missions.
After France agreed to send frigates to protect the island, Sir Keir on Tuesday ordered Type 45 air defence destroyer to sail to the region.
But it will not be ready to set sail from Portsmouth until next week, having been disarmed for planned maintenance, and could take a further week to get there.
Al Carns, a defence minister, said the ship would not leave until engineers had finished ‘a variety of different bits of maintenance’.
As a result, it will arrive in Cyprus after warships from France and Spain.
According to a Politico report, the Ministry of Defence signed a contract with Serco Marine Services last May that effectively ended 24-hour staffing at the port.
Prospect, the union representing engineers and tug boat workers, claims this reduced capacity has forced its members to volunteer for evening and weekend shifts just to get the destroyer battle-ready following recent escalations in the Middle East.
Serco countered Prospect’s claims, asserting that the contract defines the core working day as 7am to 7pm and includes overtime provisions.
A spokesman for Serco said: ‘HMS Dragon is being prepared to sail, with the full support of our dedicated teams in Portsmouth.
‘Serco has fulfilled every task requested by the Royal Navy on time and to the agreed standard.
‘Any suggestion that the working patterns of Serco employees have impacted HMS Dragon’s ability to sail is completely untrue.’
