HMS Bangor (M109): Patrolling Libya's Coast, Then Getting Rear-Ended Twice in Bahrain

HMS Bangor (M109)

A Minehunter Built From Fibreglass

HMS Bangor is a Sandown-class minehunter that entered Royal Navy service in 2000, built with a fibreglass hull specifically to minimise her magnetic signature, since a warship built from steel is, rather inconveniently, exactly the kind of thing that attracts magnetically triggered mines. She is fitted with Variable Depth Sonar capable of operating down to 200 metres, the Type 2093 sonar system, and carries SeaFox mine disposal equipment alongside diver-placed explosive charges for actually dealing with whatever she finds, backed up by a 30mm gun, miniguns and machine guns for self-defence.

Libya, the Clyde, and the Commonwealth Games

In 2011 Bangor conducted maritime security patrols off Misrata during the NATO intervention in Libya, part of the international effort supporting operations against the Gaddafi government, and took part in Exercise Joint Warrior in 2013. In 2014 she was stationed on the River Clyde during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, providing security while also offering public tours, a nice piece of community engagement for a ship whose usual work rarely brings her into direct public view.

Forward-Based in the Gulf

From mid-2021, Bangor deployed to Bahrain alongside HMS Middleton, joining the Royal Navy's 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron and receiving an upgrade to the ORCA mine detection system, part of Britain's long-standing forward presence in the Gulf helping keep the region's vital shipping lanes clear of mines.

A Run of Bad Luck in Port

Her time in Bahrain has not been without incident, and of a rather unfortunate kind: in January 2024 her fibreglass hull was damaged in a collision with HMS Chiddingfold, and in August that year she suffered further damage in a collision with the American ship USS Gladiator, requiring dry-docking for repairs. She was eventually returned to Scotland aboard a heavy-lift vessel in November 2025 for more substantial structural repairs, with the work scheduled for completion in April 2026. Despite the recent run of collisions, Bangor has been extended in service for a further five years, based at HMNB Clyde, a reminder that even a genuinely useful minehunter is not immune to the occasional bump in a crowded harbour.