The Albion-class landing platform dock is a class of amphibious assault ship in service with the Royal Navy. The class consists of two vessels, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, ordered in 1996 to replace the ageing Fearless class. Both ships were built by BAE Systems Marine at the former Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering yard in Barrow-in-Furness. Albion was commissioned in 2003 and Bulwark in 2004. Each of the ships has a crew of 325 and can accommodate up to 405 troops. Thirty-one large trucks and thirty-six smaller vehicles and main battle tanks can be carried inside the vehicle deck. To disembark troops and vehicles, the vessels are equipped with eight landing craft.


To cut the running costs of the Royal Navy, the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review concluded that one of its two Albion-class LPDs should be placed into extended readiness, or docked, while the other is held at high readiness for operations. The vessels will alternate between extended readiness and high readiness throughout their service lives.

It was confirmed that Albion would be the first of the two vessels to be placed at extended readiness, for a cost of £2.5 million, as Bulwark had recently finished a major refit. Running costs while in extended readiness are estimated to be £300,000 per annum to keep the vessel available for reactivation at short notice. HMS Albion will re-enter high readiness when HMS Bulwark is put into extended readiness, expected around 2016. In 2014 Albion will enter a regeneration refit and will rejoin the active fleet in 2016. The running costs of one of the Albion-class vessels at high readiness ranged from £17.7 million to £38.6 million per annum from 2007 to 2011. As of early 2019 Albion was in active service while Bulwark was held at extended readiness.