There was a time when the Royal Navy ruled the Oceans of the world. This period lasted for almost 200 years and during this period the British built up a vast empire that followed the adage"The sun never sets on the British Empire".Alas, those days are over and the Britain today is a nation without a colony and limited resources. Yet, it wants to make a pretense of being a world power, which unfortunately, it is not. The British have built modern warships, but there is a cost cutting as finance is not available and the result is that most
of the warships vital components are failing.The British navy has inducted a most modern destroyer at a whopping cost of one billion pounds. This is the 8000 ton HMS Diamond, which carries a crew of 190. As ashow of strength this warship was deployed in the Gulf to support the US war effort. However, within days the warship developed
engine problems and its propeller malfunctioned. There was no choice but to withdraw the warship from operational duty and send it back to Englansd for repairs. The Warship has now berthed at Southampton for repairs. Its a billion dollars down the drain. Sadly this is not the only case and five other warships having engine and electrical problems are also berthed at the port for repairs. BBC news has reported this witha commentary.The retreat of the warship from active duty has dented British prestige and one wonders what has gone wrong. A little introspection will show to the British that they should stop playing big power games. BAE, the company which has installed the various systems on board has said that the warship's systems were not attuned for operation in the hot climate of the Gulf. This is sad and one wonders why the warship was sent there.
