British MoD sells HMS Ocean helicopter carrier to Brazilian Navy

On 19 February, Admiral Luiz Henrique Caroli, Director General of Marine Material as well as representative for the Brazilian Navy, and British Ministry of Defence (MoD) authorities signed an agreement for the sale of HMS Ocean to the Brazilian Navy.

HMS Ocean, a helicopter carrier amphibious assault ship, was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1998 with the primary role of delivering troops by helicopter or by landing craft. It can carry a crew of 255, an aircrew of 206 and 480 Royal Marine Commandos, as well as an additional 320 marines in the event of a short-term emergency. Her military record spans from Operation Palliser, during the Sierra Leone civil war, to Operation Ellamy, as part of an international coalition in Libya in 2011. She also demonstrated her humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities during the relief efforts on Operation Ruman in the Caribbean last summer.

After being commission into the Brazilian navy on 29 June 2018, HMS Ocean will be employed in helicopter air operations, amphibious operations with Marine troops and Maritime Area Control missions to protect Maritime lines of supply. It will also carry out logistical support activities for humanitarian assistance, assistance to natural disaster areas and support for peacekeeping operations.

The UK MoD indicated in its press release that the ship was sold to the Brazilian Navy for approximately £84million ($117.5million), a sum that will be “reinvested in defence at a time when the Royal Navy is being strengthened with two types of brand new frigates and two huge aircraft carriers.”