Boris Johnson considers to replace Royal Yacht Britannia with two £150m ships

09/10/201912/10/2019 themarinenews Boris Johnson, Commonwealth, Edinburgh, Florence Nightingale, HMY Britannia, Mary Seacole, Penny Mordaunt, Portsmouth, Prime Minister, Royal Yacht Britannia, ship, Tony Blair, Yacht

Boris Johnson is considering plans to replace Royal Yacht Britannia with two new £150m ships paid for by the foreign aid budget, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

**The Queen launches the Royal Yacht Britannia on 1953**

Mr Johnson has been in talks with former International Development secretary Penny Mordaunt over plans dubbed “Britannia 2.0” for two new ships to be deployed around the world to help with relief efforts.

The prime minister is considering the proposal, devised by Penny Mordaunt during her stint as international development secretary.

The new ships – with one called “Britannia” and the other names the “Florence Nightingale” or “Mary Seacole” – would be made available to members of the royal family for overseas tours to Commonwealth and other countries.

The first ship would cost around £150m, with the second slightly less.

The original HMY Britannia was a regular sight in Portsmouth. It is now a tourist attraction in Edinburgh after it was controversially decommissioned by Tony Blair, the former prime minister, in 1997.

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