"THE DRAGON" WILL BE DELAYED - IT WILL TAKE MORE THAN 2 WEEKS TO REACH CYPRUS ACCORDING TO THE DAILY TELEGRAPH - Filenews 7/3
The Dragon destroyer that the United Kingdom has decided to send to Cyprus has been delayed because the naval base where it is preparing is only operating from nine to five. This is pointed out by a report in the Daily Telegraph newspaper citing sources from a union.
According to the Prospect union representing workers at the Portsmouth base, where the Dragon is docked, the British Ministry of Defense has imposed a strict 9-to-5 working day on weekdays to reduce costs. That's why the Dragon can't be prepared faster despite the valiant efforts of the staff, says union general secretary Mike Clancy.
The union speaks of changes to the contract for the provision of services at the port, following the agreement of the British Ministry of Defense with the company Serco Marine Services, arguing that the previous 24-hour operation has been limited, thus affecting operational readiness.
For its part, Serco rejects the accusations, stressing that the work is carried out normally and that the basic hours are from 7 am to 7 pm, while there is the possibility of overtime.
According to the newspaper report, it will eventually take more than two weeks for the ship to reach Cyprus. This is because, in addition to its time-consuming refuelling, it also needs a week's maintenance on a dry dock.
Deputy Defense Minister Al Karnes said the ship had to undergo a series of technical work and be reconfigured for a different mission before departing for the eastern Mediterranean. That is why it will not sail until the engineers have completed "a series of different maintenance tasks".
With these and other things, Keir Starmer is heavily criticized on the one hand, because after the start of the conflict in the Middle East, it took him more than 72 hours to make the decision to send a Type 45 destroyer, such as the Dragon, to the region.
And on the other hand, his critics say, while everyone estimated that it was very likely that a war would begin, he had not foreseen it much earlier. It is characteristic that the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, while it has 6 type 45 destroyers, three are decommissioned and are being maintained, while the other 3 need time to be prepared and be able to operate wherever necessary.
RES-EAP
