Boris Johnson plans to sink �200m into new ship of state
PM says national flagship, a successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia, would promote British trade and industry around the world
Press Association
Sun 30 May 2021 02.32 BST
Last modified on Sun 30 May 2021 02.33 BST
A new national flagship, the successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia, will promote British trade and industry around the world, Boris Johnson has said.
The vessel would be used to host trade fairs, ministerial summits and diplomatic talks as the UK seeks to build links and boost exports following Brexit. It would be the first national flagship since Britannia, which was decommissioned in 1997, but the new vessel would be a ship rather than a luxury yacht.
A name for the vessel has not been announced, but Johnson has faced pressure from campaigners and Tory MPs to name it after the Duke of Edinburgh, who played a role in designing Britannia.
(...SNIPPED)
"Haijun" means "navy" in Mandarin Chinese.
"You have enemies? Good. It means you stood up for something in your life."- Winston Churchill
Maybe it's my suspicious mind but is it just a coincidence that this has been announced in the week Boris has come under pressure after the Dominic Cummings appearance at the Commons Health and Science committee sessions? Perhaps not as pointless as some of his other wheezes such as a bridge from Scotland to Northern Ireland but is there any real evidence that this sort of facility actually pays for itself without the Royal connection? Apart from the Danish Dannebrog, does any other country operate a Royal Yacht or equivalent these days?
I also wonder if the Naval manning branch had been properly consulted before this announcement .........
There is one other royal yacht in service: Norway's eponymous Norge.
On the British Royal Yacht, one would think two brand new aircraft carriers would provide all the diplomatic presence one needs...but I suppose one can't expect Boris and friends to have read Ken Booth's Navies and Foreign Policy.
More money wasted on vanity projects. �200M is presumably the estimated cost of building it. How much will it cost to run? And, when the RN is short of personnel, where is the crew to come from?
In 1757 Admiral John Byng was shot "pour encourager les autres". Voltaire
