Thousands of spectators and a minister witnessed a 16,000-tonne ship bump into a pier when it was launched on the Clyde yesterday.

The Mounts Bay, the 750th ship to be launched from the Govan yard in Glasgow, ended up with a 2ft dent in its bow.

The 577ft landing craft veered off the slipway and careered into the wooden structure in front of shipyard workers and Adam Ingram, the armed forces minister.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "During the launch the ship came into contact with the opposite bank. It suffered very superficial damage to its plate. Neither the ship nor anyone watching the launch was in any danger. An investigation into what went wrong will be launched."

Earlier, it took Lady Sarah Band, the wife of the Commander-in-Chief of Fleet, Adml Sir Jonathan Band, two attempts to name the vessel.

Her first effort to smash a bottle of champagne against the hull failed.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing craft took 2,300 workers two years to build at the BAE Systems yard. It will be used to land tanks and trucks. It is planned to build four of the vessels.

Source