Places Features

Chief Minister, Deputy Mike Torode made the announcement at the start of the January 2008 meeting of The States of Deliberation that the Type-45 destroyer HMS Daring is 'Guernsey's Ship'.

HMS Daring is launched

All ships and submarines of the Royal Navy are affiliated with towns, cities or regions. This helps strengthen ties between the local communities and the Navy and provides benefits for organisations such as naval associations, youth groups and charities.

HMS Daring belongs to the most powerful destroyer class ever built in the UK, the Type 45 air defence destroyer. She is equipped with a state of the art defence system capable of tracking and destroying a target the size of a cricket ball travelling at three times the speed of sound.

The vessel is over 150 metres long and displacing over 8,000 tonnes, the same size as a World War Two cruiser. She has a crew of 190 and a range of 7,000 nautical miles. The Daring is a flexible multi-role vessel able to carry out various tasks including air defence to humanitarian and anti-piracy activities.

The new HMS Daring is the seventh Royal Navy vessel to bear the name, the last was a 2,800 tonne destroyer launched in 1949. This new vessel is one of potentially eight Type-45 destroyers, others include the HMS Dauntless, Diamond, Duncan, Dragon And Defender.

HMS Daring during sea trials

BBC Guernsey's Claire Ozanne spoke to Guernsey's Lieutenant Governor Vice-Admiral Sir Fabian Malbon about the announcement...

Before she is commissioned in 2009 the HMS Daring underwent sea trials under the command of Senior Naval Officer Commander David Shutts...

BBC TV also found out more about the vessel's ties with Guernsey...