Decommissioned
Intrepid was placed in reserve status late in 1990, when Fearless completed an extensive refit. Intrepid was in poor physical condition by this time, which prevented a similar upgrade, and was laid up at HM Naval Base Portsmouth. Intrepid was used as a source of spares for her sister ship, HMS Fearless. She was decommissioned in 1999 and awaited her disposal, by scrapping, in Fareham Creek, Hampshire.
Replacement LPDs were ordered during the 1990s with HMS Albion being commissioned in 2003.
On 12 February 2007, the MoD announced that HMS Intrepid is to be recycled at a British facility. Leavesley International was selected as the preferred bidder, pending license acquisition. The contract aims to ensure that the ship is disposed of responsibly, and in full compliance with international environmental legislation.
Having received the required planning permission and environmental licences for disposal, Intrepid duly left Portsmouth for her final journey to Liverpool on 13 September 2008. Having been previously suggested as potential diving site on the southcoast, various veterans of the Falklands War started a petition on the 10 Downing Street website to preserve the ship as a memorial to the conflict. But in late January 2009, the Daily Mail published an article showing the half demolished ship in Liverpool Docks, which was reported to be on target to be 96% recycled.
Read more about this topic: HMS Intrepid (L11)