In 2018, the United Kingdom sold its helicopter carrier HMS Ocean to Brazil, which at that time was designated as the flagship vessel. It was commissioned only in 1998 and had the capacity to carry up to 18 helicopters and around 800 troops. The ship was sold for just £80 million (at the then-current exchange rate) and was renamed Atlantico (A140) in the Brazilian navy.
It seems that this paradoxical story may continue to unfold, as there are now reports suggesting that the British might sell Brazil two of their landing ships, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, and at quite a laughable price.
According to the portal Army Recognition citing a report from the Daily Mail, the UK Ministry of Defence is indeed considering the option of selling these two amphibious assault ships to Brazil, which have been out of service for quite some time and are generally planned for disposal.
At first glance, it may seem that selling two "surplus" ships is certainly a better option than scrapping them. However, the nuance is that the British defense ministry aims to raise a maximum of £20 million from the sale of the landing ship HMS Bulwark, while £130 million had already been spent on modernizing this ship, and an additional £72 million was incurred for its decommissioning expenses.
The overarching issue here is that if the United Kingdom "sells off" or simply scraps the aforementioned two amphibious assault ships, it will lose the capability to independently conduct amphibious operations and will have to request landing ships from the USA and other NATO allies.
If Brazil does purchase the British HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, it would transform Brazil into a powerful naval state in Latin America and paradoxically strengthen defense cooperation with the United Kingdom.
We would like to specify that the British landing ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark are of the same class, each measuring 176 meters in length and displacing 20,000 tons; these dimensions allow them to carry up to 67 units of heavy equipment, including six Challenger 2 tanks and up to 30 armored personnel carriers, as well as 405 troops, four Utility MK10 landing craft, and two Chinook helicopters.
In turn, at the time of its decommissioning from the Royal Navy in 2018, the aforementioned HMS Ocean was considered the largest ship in the British fleet, measuring 202 meters in length and displacing 21,000 tons, and besides the air group of 18 helicopters, it could also carry up to 40 units of wheeled vehicles.
