The Albion-class landing platform dock is a class of amphibious warfare ship originally built for the Royal Navy. The class consists of two vessels, and , ordered in 1996 to replace the ageing . Both ships were built by BAE Systems Marine at the former Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering yard in Barrow-in-Furness. Albion was commissioned in 2003 and Bulwark in 2005. Each of the ships has a crew of 325 and can accommodate up to 405 troops. Thirty-one large trucks and thirty-six smaller vehicles and main battle tanks can be carried inside the vehicle deck. To disembark troops and vehicles, the vessels are equipped with eight landing craft.
In November 2024, the newly elected Labour government stated that the ships would be removed from service by March 2025. In April 2025 it was announced that both ships would be sold to the Brazilian Navy. On 10 September 2025, the Brazilian Navy signed the contract to buy former HMS Bulwark.
Development
The value of the two s was highlighted during the Falklands War. Not only did the ships transport troops and vehicles to the South Atlantic, the commanders of the landing operations at San Carlos were aboard , and once they arrived their flight decks were used to support airborne operations by helicopters and Sea Harrier jets.
As these ships were built in the 1960s, on 18 July 1996 the British Ministry of Defence awarded a £450 million contract for their replacements to Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd (VSEL) in Barrow-in-Furness.
The ships' roles are "to act as the afloat command platform for the Royal Navy's Amphibious Task Force and Landing Force Commanders when embarked" and "to embark, transport, deploy and recover troops with their equipment and vehicles which form part of an amphibious assault force".
It was confirmed that Albion would be the first of the two vessels to be placed at extended readiness, for a cost of £2.5 million, as Bulwark had recently finished a major refit. Running costs while in extended readiness are estimated to be £300,000 per annum to keep the vessel available for reactivation at short notice. HMS Albion re-entered high readiness when HMS Bulwark was put into extended readiness. In 2014 Albion entered a regeneration refit and rejoined the active fleet in 2016. The running costs of one of the Albion-class vessels at high readiness ranged from £17.7 million to £38.6 million per annum from 2007 to 2011. As of late 2018 Albion was in active service while Bulwark was held at extended readiness.
In 2024, it was reported that, due to manning problems in the Royal Navy and despite the pending completion of a major refit of HMS Bulwark, both vessels were now expected to remain in reserve. In May 2024, the Navy indicated that it intended to retain both ships until 2033/34 when they would be replaced by the future Multi Role Support Ships (MRSS). However, in November 2024, the recently elected Labour government indicated that they would in fact be retired early in order to save money.
Characteristics
The Albion-class LPDs have a length of , a breadth of , and a draught of . They have a normal displacement of , at full load and when the dock is flooded. The GE Electric Propulsion System is powered by two Wärtsilä Vasa 16V 32E diesel generators generating at 6.6kV which drive two electric motors, two shafts, and a bow thruster as well as providing all the services power on the vessel.
The aft flight deck has two landing spots for aircraft the size of a Chinook, although it has no hangar or aircraft storage facility. Below the flight deck are the dock and vehicle deck. or six Challenger 2 tanks and thirty armoured personnel carriers. The dock can hold four Landing Craft Utility MK10, each large enough to carry vehicles up to main battle tank size, which are then launched by flooding of the dock area. Four smaller LCVP MK5 that can carry thirty-five men or two light trucks are carried on davits, two each side of the ship's superstructure.
Weapons and sensors
For defence against missile attack, the Albion-class LPDs were fitted with two 30 mm Goalkeeper CIWSs mounted fore and aft on the superstructure and two 20 mm cannon located on the forward superstructure. Defensive countermeasures include the Outfit DLJ decoys, eight Seagnat radar reflection / infra-red emitting decoy launchers and a BAE Systems DLH off-board decoy. On 26 January 2025, the Daily Mail reported the sale for Brazil of the two boats of the class, Albion and Bulwark, in a negotiation of £20 million (R$145 million). On 4 February 2025, the Brazilian Navy confirmed the negotiations to the newspaper O Globo.
On 2 April 2025, the Brazilian and British MoDs signed a letter of intent to launch the basis of formal negotiations, including detailed technical assessments and discussions on the financial and logistical terms, aiming at the incorporation of the units into the Brazilian Navy's fleet. On 4 April, the UK MoD confirmed the negotiations for the transfer. On 30 April, the UK's Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry and House of Commons MP Maria Eagle, confirmed the intention to sell the two ships to Brazil, in an answer to MP Ben Obese-Jecty.
Brazilian service
On 10 September 2025, during the Defence and Security Equipment International in London, the former HMS Bulwark was officially sold to Brazil with the contract signed aboard HMS Mersey. She will be re-commissioned in 2026. The transfer of the ship to Brazil took place in September 2025 with an handover ceremony at HMNB Devonport in Plymouth.
Ships – disposal and current state
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%;"
|- valign=top
! | Pennant
! | Name
! | Commissioned by RN
! | Decommissioned by RN
! | Sale contract signed
! | Re-commissioned new owner
! | Status
|-
|- valign=top
| | L14
| |
| | 19 June 2003
| | March 2025
| | 2026
|-
|}
HMS Albion
HMS Albion was launched at Barrow-in-Furness on 9 March 2001. She was deployed with the Response Force Task Group to the Gulf of Sidra off Libya to assist the ongoing NATO-led operation, and then moved into the Indian Ocean in June 2011 to assist with anti-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa. In 2011 she entered a state of "extended readiness". In July 2017, she re-entered active service after a long re-fit. While remaining temporarily deployable if required, in July 2023 she entered reduced readiness (skeleton crew aboard for ship maintenance). By early 2024, she was reported to have transitioned to "extended readiness" (uncrewed reserve).
HMS Bulwark
HMS Bulwark, the second in the class, was launched at Barrow-in-Furness in November 2001, and was commissioned in December 2004. The refit improved her machinery and magazines, converted her to full night-vision tactical ability for landing craft and aircraft, and gave her the ability to operate two Chinook helicopters from the flight deck at the same time. though with an ability to deploy "if required". Despite this recent refit (which had already cost £72.1 million), in November 2024 it was indicated that HMS Bulwark, along with her sister ship, would in fact be taken out of service completely. In 2025, she was sold to Brazil.
See also
- List of active Royal Marines military watercraft
Equivalent amphibious warfare ships of the same era