HMS Marlborough (F233)

HMS Marlborough was a 'Duke'-class Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy, and the sixth ship to bear the name. She was named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.

History
Marlborough was the first naval ship on the scene to assist the stricken USS Cole after she was attacked in Aden, Yemen in October 2000. Marlborough, under the command of Captain Anthony Rix, was on passage to the UK after a six-month deployment in the Gulf and had a full medical detachment on board; when her offer of assistance was accepted she immediately diverted to Aden.

Marlborough played a key role in the second Gulf War, under the command of Captain Mark Anderson.

In July 2004, it was announced that Marlborough would be one of three Type 23 ships to be decommissioned by the end of 2006.

In October 2004 Marlborough again came to the aid of a stricken ally when she was dispatched to assist HMCS Chicoutimi (SSK 879), adrift off the northwest Irish coast and arrived at the scene where RFA Wave Knight and Marlborough's sister-ship HMS Montrose (F236) were present. Montrose had been the first ship to make contact with the boat. Other ships were also dispatched, including RFA Argus.

Prior to her decommissioning, Marlborough had a US Navy officer permanently assigned to her crew. Reciprocally, a Royal Navy officer is permanently assigned to the destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill.

The 2003 defence cuts committed Marlborough to pay off by March 2006. In June 2005, it was announced that Marlborough would be sold to the Chilean Navy. The Chilean Navy officially welcomed their new Almirante Condell into the fleet at a Commissioning Ceremony on 28 May 2008. The vessel was the last of three former Royal Navy Type-23 frigates to be handed over to Chile, under a £134 million pound sales agreement arranged by the MOD’s Disposal Services Authority and signed in September 2005. She joins her sister ships in the Chilean Navy, the former HMS Norfolk (F230) and former HMS Grafton (F80), handed over in November 2006 and March 2007 respectively.