Technical issues force HMS Diamond to miss final day of exercise
HMS Diamond pictured during Exercise Steadfast Defender. (Photo: MoD/ Crown Copyright)
HMS Diamond was due to participate in celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Five Power Defence Agreements (FPDA) in Singapore — until ‘technical issues’ intervened.
On 18 October, ‘technical issues’ forced the RN Daring-class Type 45 destroyer, HMS Diamond, to miss the last day of Exercise Bersama Gold.
In a statement, an RN spokesperson told Shephard: ‘Owing to technical issues, HMS Diamond was unable to participate in the final day of Exercise Bersama Gold,’
‘The ship is in the Indian Ocean as part of the Carrier Strike Group deployment, with HMS Diamond commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Five Power Defence Agreements by conducting multi-national training exercises.’
The British Defence Singapore Support Unit in Sembawang, Singapore, is supporting the resolution of the issue, which is said not to be engine related.
The FPDA Is made up of Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and the UK.
Previously, Shephard reported Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen signalled that changes to FPDA were unlikely, despite increasing military tensions in the Asia-Pacific.
Earlier this year, HMS Diamond was forced to detach from Carrier Strike Group (CSG 21) deployment due to mechanical problems.
In July, the destroyer remained in Sicily whilst the remainder of CSG 21 transited the Suez Canal for the second leg of the deployment. Following repairs, Diamond sailed at the end of August to re-join CSG 21.
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