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It happens in all navies to one extent or another. It happens in the USN for any # of reasons even the for high-priority platforms such as SSBNs.
Some of them:
Shortage of spares due to lack of funding
Quicker than waiting for a part to be delivered from the supply system
Older equipment no longer sufficiently supported by the supply system
Low failure rate parts that prematurely fail thattarent stocked aboard ship or readily avaiable
High value parts that have limited inventory iin a supply system that arent stocked aboard ship or readily available
Required parts not aboard a ship becasue of personnel laziness or incompetence
Required parts not aboard because they arent listed in the ships COSAL(Coordinated Shipboard Allowance List) because of inaccuracies or other anomalies
HMS Spare Parts
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 27/03/2005)
The Royal Navy is being forced to "cannibalise" warships in a desperate attempt to keep Britain's fighting fleet at sea, defence chiefs have admitted.
The practice of plundering one ship for spares to re-equip another is so widespread in the Navy that it is officially known as "storob", a contraction of the phrase "stores robbed".
The problem has arisen because of the unprecedented operational demands faced by the Navy over the past four years, combined with a shortage of expensive spare parts for equipment including radar and weapons systems.
The Ministry of Defence admits that, because of financial constraints, the Navy can hold only a small stock of parts to ensure that the fleet is serviceable under "normal" operating conditions.
Senior officers claim, however, that the Navy has not faced "normal" operating conditions since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and has had to resort increasingly to "cannibalisation" of its vessels.
Defence officials refused to say how many ships had been stripped of certain items in the past year but admitted that "several" had been subjected to storob to ensure that others could take part in operations in the Gulf.
The Telegraph has learnt that last year Campbeltown, a Broadsword-class Type-22 frigate, developed a problem with its air-defence missile tracking system.
It is understood that the ship was allowed to remain at sea when the problem arose because it was assigned to home waters where the air threat against Britain is regarded as low.
A few weeks later, however, the captain of the Campbeltown received orders to sail to the Gulf where the air threat, mainly from Iran, is considerably higher.
Before the frigate could depart spares had to be taken from another ship.
The Telegraph has also learnt that frigates have been deployed to the Caribbean with inoperable Sea Wolf missiles, which are designed to protect ships from air attack. The deployment was allowed to go ahead because of the "negligible" air threat in the Caribbean.
The scale of the problem was revealed after a parliamentary question by Andrew Robathan, the Tory party's international affairs spokesman and MP for Blaby, Leicestershire, who asked: "What equipment has been taken from Royal Navy warships in port in the last year to make up for deficiencies on ships that are on operational deployment? How many ships have been involved?"
In a written answer Adam Ingram, the defence minister, said: "Ships are prioritised by readiness for the joint rapid reaction force rather than being either 'deployed' or 'in port'.
"The removal of ships' fitted equipment (or parts of it) is known as storob. This is a formal process, but is normally used as a last resort to meet high-readiness operational commitments in cases where the demanded items are not available from other sources.
"Because of the impact on the donor ship's capability, this is only considered when the donor ship is either reducing in readiness towards upkeep [maintenance] or disposal, or is already in upkeep.
"I will write to you shortly with a full list of the ships and equipment that have been involved in the storob process over the last year and I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House."
One senior naval officer said he believed that the problem with spares, combined with the operational demands on the Navy, would be made worse when the full impact of the defence cuts was felt.
He said: "By the end of 2005 the Navy will only have 25 frigates and destroyers. This means fewer ships carrying out relatively more tasks, which will have a significant wear and tear impact on ships.
''Less money will mean fewer spare parts so the problem will only get worse."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said that the practice of storob was used "only as a last resort".
Some of them:
Shortage of spares due to lack of funding
Quicker than waiting for a part to be delivered from the supply system
Older equipment no longer sufficiently supported by the supply system
Low failure rate parts that prematurely fail thattarent stocked aboard ship or readily avaiable
High value parts that have limited inventory iin a supply system that arent stocked aboard ship or readily available
Required parts not aboard a ship becasue of personnel laziness or incompetence
Required parts not aboard because they arent listed in the ships COSAL(Coordinated Shipboard Allowance List) because of inaccuracies or other anomalies
HMS Spare Parts
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 27/03/2005)
The Royal Navy is being forced to "cannibalise" warships in a desperate attempt to keep Britain's fighting fleet at sea, defence chiefs have admitted.
The practice of plundering one ship for spares to re-equip another is so widespread in the Navy that it is officially known as "storob", a contraction of the phrase "stores robbed".
The problem has arisen because of the unprecedented operational demands faced by the Navy over the past four years, combined with a shortage of expensive spare parts for equipment including radar and weapons systems.
The Ministry of Defence admits that, because of financial constraints, the Navy can hold only a small stock of parts to ensure that the fleet is serviceable under "normal" operating conditions.
Senior officers claim, however, that the Navy has not faced "normal" operating conditions since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and has had to resort increasingly to "cannibalisation" of its vessels.
Defence officials refused to say how many ships had been stripped of certain items in the past year but admitted that "several" had been subjected to storob to ensure that others could take part in operations in the Gulf.
The Telegraph has learnt that last year Campbeltown, a Broadsword-class Type-22 frigate, developed a problem with its air-defence missile tracking system.
It is understood that the ship was allowed to remain at sea when the problem arose because it was assigned to home waters where the air threat against Britain is regarded as low.
A few weeks later, however, the captain of the Campbeltown received orders to sail to the Gulf where the air threat, mainly from Iran, is considerably higher.
Before the frigate could depart spares had to be taken from another ship.
The Telegraph has also learnt that frigates have been deployed to the Caribbean with inoperable Sea Wolf missiles, which are designed to protect ships from air attack. The deployment was allowed to go ahead because of the "negligible" air threat in the Caribbean.
The scale of the problem was revealed after a parliamentary question by Andrew Robathan, the Tory party's international affairs spokesman and MP for Blaby, Leicestershire, who asked: "What equipment has been taken from Royal Navy warships in port in the last year to make up for deficiencies on ships that are on operational deployment? How many ships have been involved?"
In a written answer Adam Ingram, the defence minister, said: "Ships are prioritised by readiness for the joint rapid reaction force rather than being either 'deployed' or 'in port'.
"The removal of ships' fitted equipment (or parts of it) is known as storob. This is a formal process, but is normally used as a last resort to meet high-readiness operational commitments in cases where the demanded items are not available from other sources.
"Because of the impact on the donor ship's capability, this is only considered when the donor ship is either reducing in readiness towards upkeep [maintenance] or disposal, or is already in upkeep.
"I will write to you shortly with a full list of the ships and equipment that have been involved in the storob process over the last year and I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House."
One senior naval officer said he believed that the problem with spares, combined with the operational demands on the Navy, would be made worse when the full impact of the defence cuts was felt.
He said: "By the end of 2005 the Navy will only have 25 frigates and destroyers. This means fewer ships carrying out relatively more tasks, which will have a significant wear and tear impact on ships.
''Less money will mean fewer spare parts so the problem will only get worse."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said that the practice of storob was used "only as a last resort".
:)
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