Two Navy warships crashed into each other because one was incorrectly rewired so it reversed instead of going forward, sources have claimed.

The minehunter HMS Chiddingfold smashed into HMS Bangor in Bahrain on Thursday after it failed to moor alongside it, leaving HMS Bangor with a large rip along its side.

Sources have told The Telegraph that HMS Chiddingfold accidentally reversed as a result of “faulty engine controls producing astern instead of ahead”.

According to the Guardian, the vessel’s motor was “wired incorrectly”, which caused full ahead to give “full astern”.

On Sunday, Grant Shapps insisted the incident was not because of incompetence.

The Defence Secretary said: “We don’t say it’s incompetence when we see an aircraft come down. A very rare occasion just as this would be a rare occasion. It’s right to leave the investigators some time to work out exactly what’s gone wrong.”

The Royal Navy confirmed it had launched an investigation into the collision last week, but said it would not comment while the investigation was being carried out.

However, another Navy source told the Telegraph it was “impossible” to ascertain what caused the vessel to wrongly reverse. “I can’t think of a single way that you could leave the wall with the engines reversed and not notice immediately,” they said.

“In fact, if they had a double engine change, you’d test everything whilst still alongside first. It’s inconceivable that this would have been missed.”

The incident has left at least one of three British minehunters participating in Operation Kipion – the air and maritime presence of British Forces in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean – out of action.

The mission is aimed at safeguarding freedom of navigation and countering narcotics and piracy.

The episode comes after Britain and the US launched strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen in retaliation for the group’s attacks on global shipping in the Persian Gulf.

Rishi Sunak said that the US-British air strikes on the Iran-backed group were “limited, necessary and proportionate” and had sent a clear message to the group’s leadership to cease their assault on commercial ships.

Crashed into HMS Penzance

In 2021, HMS Chiddingfold was involved in a similar collision when it crashed into HMS Penzance, another minesweeper, at a naval base in Bahrain.

The 685-tonne vessel sustained £100,000 worth of damage as a result, leaving it out of action for three months.

Rear Adml Edward Ahlgren, Commander Operations, said he was “aware” of the incident and “would like to stress that thankfully nobody was hurt in the collision, but some damage was sustained”.

“Why this happened is still to be established,” he added. “We train our people to the highest standards and rigorously enforce machinery safety standards, but unfortunately incidents of this nature can still happen.

“I assure you that a full and thorough investigation is already under way and any changes in procedure that could prevent further incidents will be rapidly implemented. In the meantime, the UK will continue to play a key part in ensuring the safety of merchant shipping in the region.”