'Faster, leaner, greener' Ark Royal sets sail after £12m re-fit




The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal set sail today for the first time following a £12 million refurbishment.

The 20,000 tonne warship sailed out of Portsmouth Naval Base to embark on two weeks of post-maintenance tests.

The ship will be undergoing marine and engineering trials in the navy's training areas off the south west of England.

HMS Ark Royal takes to the seas in Portsmouth Harbour, following a £12 million refurbishment

Members of the crew are seen aboard HMS Ark Royal. The 20,000 tonne warship sailed out of Portsmouth Naval Base to embark on two weeks of post-maintenance tests

A navy spokesman said that Ark Royal is now 'faster, leaner and greener' following the revamp.

The upgrade work, carried out by BVT Surface Fleet, included painting the hull with new 'intersleek' paint which enables it to cut through the seas more quickly.

This cuts fuel and emissions by 9 per cent and also increases the ship's top speed by two knots to 30 knots.

Other work included new exhaust systems, an updated IT network and improvements to the sewage treatment plants, gearboxes, main engines and diesel generators.

A navy spokesman said that the Ark Royal is now "faster, leaner and greener" following the revamp

The upgrade work has cut fuel emissions by nine per cent and also increases the ship's top speed by two knots to 30 knots

Once the sea trials are complete, Ark Royal will resume its role as fleet flagship in the new year, taking over from its sister ship HMS Illustrious.

Commanding officer Captain John Clink said: 'The ship's company is excited and proud to be taking Ark Royal back to sea to commence our preparations to become the Royal Navy's strike carrier and the UK's fleet flagship.

'I recognise that our seven months in Portsmouth has been hard work but it has ensured that we are ready to start our sea training and be able to practice our war-fighting skills.

'The ship is now faster, leaner and greener and looking forward to taking her place at the vanguard of the fleet.'

As she was: The Ark Royal at the Swan hunter shipyard after being launched by the Queen Mother in 1981

Five ships of the Royal Navy have been known as the HMS Ark Royal.

The first was built in 1587 on the order of Sir Walter Raleigh and was the flagship of the English fleet during the Spanish Armada campaign of 1588. The second was launched in 1914 and served in the Dardanelles Campaign and throughout World War I.

The third was launched in 1937 and participated in the search to find the German destroyer, Bismarck, which had been ravaging the British fleet in the Atlantic. Sailing through a ferocious storm the Ark Royal tracked the Bismarck.

A dozen swordfish bombers took off from her deck and pounded shell after shell into the German battleship, sending her to the ocean floor. It was a signal victory that resonated around the world.

Hitler, furious at the loss of the German fleet's flagship, demanded that the Ark Royal be destroyed at whatever cost.

In her first two years of operation this Ark Royal survived countless attacks, and was considered one of the luckiest ships in the Navy.

But her air of invincibility was to prove wishful thinking. Within one month of sinking the Bismarck, the Ark Royal too was destroyed while sailing off the coast of Gibraltar.

The present Ark Royal was built by Swan Hunters Ship Builders' yard at Wallsend in December 1978 and launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. HMS Ark Royal was accepted into service on 1 July 1985.