(July 25th 2001)
Ark Royal Avoids Collision
Last Monday, July 25th, the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (R07) was left without steering when her rudder jammed near the Forth Road Bridge.
Ark Royal was leaving Rosyth Dockyard following restocking and trials, and was heading up the Firth of Forth to undergo further sea trials. Halfway between Rosyth and the Forth Road Bridge, Ark Royal spotted a small cargo vessel on the same course. As the carrier executed a sharp turn to allow the cargo vessel to go ahead, her primary rudder jammed. Whilst trying to switch to her back up rudder, Ark Royal was left without steering and headed at eight knots towards the Forth Road Bridge. The assistance of a local tug was required to move the 20,600 tonne carrier onto a safe course.
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokeswomen tried to play down the incident, insisting "It wasn’t near enough for there to be a risk of collision with the bridges. It was about halfway between the bridges and the dockyard". She added "It was a mechanical fault caused by the ship making too sharp a turn and it wouldn’t have been a problem in the open sea. The problem was rectified shortly afterwards and she continued on her sea trials."
However, one of the crewmen of the tug that came to Ark Royal’s assistance has revealed he is to seek compensation of up to £70 million from the MoD.