HMS Plymouth on final voyage to Aliaga

An historic Devonport-built British frigate is heading to a Turkish scrap yard in Aliağa.
The Royal Navy frigate, which survived bombing by Argentine warplanes in the Falklands War, could not be saved despite a quarter century long fight since it was decommissioned in 1988.
Campaigners had raised money to launch a legal action to have the ship “arrested” and prevent it leaving. But Peel Ports, who owned her Merseyside berth, said they had no “practical choice” but to scrap the vessel.
The 2,150 ton vessel was launched on July 20, 1959 at Devonport Dockyard by Nancy, Viscount Astor and after sea trials and fitting out, commissioned into the Royal Navy on May 11, 1961.
She served in the Far East before participating in the Falklands War in 1982, sailing to South Georgia with Royal Marines and SAS aboard.
After returning to Rosyth dockyards in Scotland for repairs in July 1982, she had steamed 34,000 miles, fired over nine hundred 4.5 inch shells and destroyed five enemy aircraft.
Aliağa Ship Recyclers’ Association (GEMİSANDER) executive Ersin Çeviker said the region is a leading spot for recycling and many vessels from around the world come in their final voyage.
Noting that they recycled 850,000 tons of vessels last year, Çeviker said the total income of the scrap yards was around $5 billion. “This year, we could recycle 400,000 tons of ships due to the competition from India and Bangladesh,” he said. “Since they do not follow the security and environmental rules and have lower costs, they can pay higher prices for the ships. Mostly ships from the Mediterranean and the European Union countries prefer turkey for recycling, led by Italy, Greece, Britain and France. This year, 183 ships were recycled.”
Some famous ship recycled in Aliağa are: Vega Oil, a 47,500-ton oil tanker from Italy; aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal of the Royal Navy, which was recycled into razors and cans; aircraft carrier HMS Invincible, on which Prince Andrew was during the Falkland War; submarine Enterprise of the Bulgarian Navy; cruiser Pacific Princess, which was famous for hosting the popular TV series “The Love Boat” in the 1980s.