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Final voyage for
our adopted ship
SCARBOROUGH'S former adopted ship HMS Fearless, which took part in the Falklands conflict, has been taken to a scrapyard to be broken up.
It is more than five years since the ship was taken out of service and mothballed in Porstmouth.
This week the vessel, which had been stripped of all its equipment, was escorted by Admiralty tugs as it was taken under tow by a Belgian tug to a scrapyard in Belgium.
As much as possible of the ship will be recycled.
Fearless took part in the Falkland Islands conflict with Argentina in 1982 when it landed Royal Marines at San Carlos Bay, the scene of some of the fiercest fighting and attacks during the war.
It was also one of two ships used to host talks between Rhodesian leader Ian Smith, who recently died, and British Prime Minister Harold Wilson about that African country’s future after it declared UDI.
On a lighter note, Fearless was featured in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.
After it was taken out of service various suggestions were made to turn it into a hotel on the River Thames or to be converted into a floating museum.
The latter idea was backed by Sir John Nott, the defence secretary at the time of the Falklands conflict, and Sir Rex Hunt, who was governor of the Falklands at the time of the crisis.
The Brazilian Navy even made enquiries about buying the ship but the move came to nothing.
Five years ago Fearless paid its last visit to Scarborough during the annual Seafest.
The borough has had four adopted ships: HMS Scarborough from 1957 to 1972, HMS Apollo from 1975-1988 and HMS Fearless from 1990 to 2002. In 2003 the Royal Naval Auxiliary Tanker, Wave Ruler, became Scarborough’s adopted ship.
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Weather for Scarborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North east
