Ulster Unionist MLA Ross Hussey has called on the DETI Minister to ensure that HMS Caroline is retained in Belfast.
The ship has been berthed in Belfast since 1923 but is facing an uncertain future since being decommissioned as a training vessel for the Royal Naval Reserve two years ago.
West Tyrone MLA Mr Hussey said:
“I strongly support the retention of HMS Caroline in Belfast. There is a strong association between Northern Ireland – and indeed Ireland as a whole – and the sea. We have a strong Royal Navy tradition yet there is no Royal Navy museum in Northern Ireland.
Both of my parents served in the Royal Navy which helps account for my interest in this subject. Having visited HMS Caroline today I would urge the DETI Minister to find a way through the problems to ensure that the ship can remain in Belfast.
I am in no doubt that the presence of HMS Caroline, the last link with the Grand Fleet and the last surviving veteran of the 1916 Battle of Jutland, would be a huge tourist asset to the Titanic Quarter, Belfast and Northern Ireland as a whole.”
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