Documentary filmmaker and advocate for heritage, horticulture and the arts, the Countess of Antrim met those building the 8,000-tonne warship in the cavernous Janet Harvey Shipbuild Hall at BAE Systems’ Govan yard in Glasgow.
After receiving a briefing from senior Royal Navy and BAE Systems representatives on HMS Belfast and the wider Type 26 program, which will deliver eight frigates for the Royal Navy, Lady Antrim moved on to the assembly hall to see the ship.
Opened last year, the gigantic facility dominates the southern bank of the river and allows two Type 26s to be built side-by-side—without being lashed by the Scottish elements. Inside, Lady Antrim thanked everyone involved in the endeavor.
As Ship’s Sponsor, Lady Antrim will attend key events in HMS Belfast‘s life, such as commissioning ceremonies, departures before and homecomings from deployment, and be regularly informed of the activities of the ship and her 160-plus crew.
She has already left her mark on the ship, bolting down part of the towed array handling system winch which one day will roll out the hi-tech sonar at the ship’s stern during anti-submarine patrols.
She told the hundreds of skilled workers toiling to complete her ship that their efforts were crucial “at a time when our nation needs state-of-the-art warships more than at any other moment in my lifetime.”
Lady Antrim hails from a family with a rich naval history: her grandfather served at sea in both World Wars, and her father served in the Fleet Air Arm. She herself learned to swim and sail courtesy of Royal Navy instructors and watched destroyer HMS Antrim return to Portsmouth after taking part in the Falklands conflict in 1982.
She said being appointed the new frigate’s Sponsor was “a profound privilege.”
The countess continued: “The Royal Navy has always been part of my life and it gives me and my family an enormous sense of pride to continue the family’s naval tradition.
“I promise to be a life-long champion of both the ship and her crew and show keen interest in all who serve in her as well as the operations the ship undertakes.”
Having seen the frigate close-up, the Countess of Antrim was also introduced to the trailblazing sailors of HMS Glasgow, who explained the work they are doing to bring their ship—plus the seven following her into front-line service—to life.
And Lady Antrim met veterans of the only other Royal Navy warship to be named Belfast.
Around a dozen members of the association from the WW2-era cruiser were invited to see progress on the ship—the first HMS Belfast since that ship paid off more than six decades ago, subsequently turned into a floating museum and memorial on the Thames in London.
Brigadier Andy Muddiman RM, the Royal Navy’s Regional Commander for Scotland and Northern Ireland, said their presence at the shipyard, with the Sponsor and shipwrights created “a unique bridge between generations.”
He continued: “The association has done a lot to preserve the history, spirit and legacy of the previous HMS Belfast—and the Sponsor will carry the connection forward.
“The role of the Ship’s Sponsor is special, far more than a ceremonial appointment: a sponsor becomes an advocate and a trusted friend, a part of the ship’s story and her naval family.”
Their time done in Govan, the guests were also transported across the river to BAE Systems’ sister shipyard on the Clyde at Scotstoun, where they toured the Belfast’s two older sister ships and chatted with Glasgow’s crew as well as BAE Systems’ apprentices.
In service, the new HMS Belfast will be the most advanced submarine hunter in the world, designed to be ultra quiet to avoid detection, crammed with sensors to hunt down foes above and beneath the waves, equipped with a 5 in main gun, anti-air and anti-ship missiles, and carrying a Merlin helicopter armed with Sting Ray torpedoes.
When operational, HMS Belfast will be one of the UK’s foremost shields against hostile submarines, either patrolling the North Atlantic protecting Europe’s northern flank and helping to safeguard the nation’s nuclear deterrent, or assigned as an escort to the UK’s Carrier Strike Group.
Additionally, the entire class is equipped with a ‘mission bay’ which can accommodate several shipping-container-sized cargoes (known as PODs in the Royal Navy, Persistent Operational Deployment Systems) for specific missions: disaster relief, aerial, surface or underwater drones, mine-hunting or hydrographic survey equipment, boats and kit for marines raiding parties.
