Navy experts to assess holed destroyer

Royal Navy experts arrived on Lord Howe Island off Australia today to assess damage to HMS Nottingham, holed when it struck rocks on Sunday.

The five-member team will decide whether the listing £300million ship can be repaired or will need to be loaded on to a floating dry dock and towed to Sydney for repairs.

The 3,500-tonne destroyer, which recently underwent an extensive refit, lost its sonar dome and starboard stabiliser when it hit the rocks. Five of its compartments were flooded up to 7m, including crew quarters and an engine room. The Royal Navy has launched an investigation into how one of its most modern warships hit Wolf Rock.

The inquiry could lead to the court martialling of its captain, Commander Richard Farrington, 41, who has admitted human error played a part - amid suggestions the only reason he diverted to the island was because he thought it so beautiful he wanted to show some of the younger members of his crew around.

The official version was the captain went ashore by helicopter to accompany an injured crewman suffering a slipped disc, later flown to Sydney for treatment.