Royal Navy Flagship HMS Ocean could be sold as the government opens talks with foreign governments.
Last year, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that HMS Ocean would be decommissioned in 2018 as part of the Ministry of Defence’s raft of spending cuts.
The Brazilian government has expressed an interest in buying the vessel and are said to be looking into the possibility of the purchase.
It had been hoped that Ocean might earn a stay of execution in a similar way RAF Tornado squadrons were extended in service after previously facing the chop.
The vessel recently underwent a £60m refit, which would have kept her sea worthy for at least further six years.
Ocean was commissioned in 1998 and saw active duty in Sierra Leone and Iraq. She is currently the UK’s only helicopter carrier and is the largest vessel in the Royal Navy.
An MoD spokesman commented: “A number of options are being considered for the future of Ocean, including the possibility of selling to another government.
“It is too soon in the process to discuss what those options might be.”
image © crown copyright
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