01/08/2012

HMS Caroline Deadline Sails Past But Politicians Fight On

Northern Ireland's tourism minister has said her department is working on a way to keep HMS Caroline in Belfast.

Arlene Foster said her department was working with the Museum of the Royal Navy to "develop a solution" to a funding deadlock that means the WWI warship could be taken out of Belfast.

She made the announcement as August 1, an original deadline for a solution, came and went.

The deadline was set aside by all parties while negotiations continue.

Ms Foster and other Northern Irish politicians have campaigned for the ship and taken part in a series of meetings since the National Museum of the Royal Navy announced plans to move HMS Caroline to Portsmouth.

The historic ship has been berthed at Alexandra Dock in Belfast since 1923.

It is the last surviving ship of any nation that fought at the battle of Jutland in 1916 and was decommissioned, after years of being used as a Royal Navy training base, in March 2011.

In June, Professor Dominic Tweddle of the National Museum of the Royal Navy wrote a letter to the Northern Ireland Executive in which he said moving HMS Caroline would be "good news for the ship but bad news for Belfast".

He said there had been "expressions of enthusiasm" for keeping the ship in Belfast, but up until that point there had been "little action".

The fate of the ship hinges on whether Stormont can find a way to pay for its maintenance or not.

(NE)

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