[1][2] On 7 July 2002, Nottingham ran aground on the submerged but well-charted Wolf Rock near Lord Howe Island, 370 miles (600 km) off the coast of Australia causing £26 million worth of damage.

The accident happened in poor weather[4] after a set of manoeuvres to allow a sailor with an emergency medical condition to be evacuated to Lord Howe Island.

The captain, Commander Richard Farrington, had been ashore having dinner with the island's marine services manager thanking him for the assistance rendered to his crewman.

Farrington had just returned and at the time of the incident the Executive Officer (XO), Lt Commander John Lea, was in-charge of the vessel.

[5] Nottingham ran aground on Wolf Rock owing to a navigational error and the vessel immediately went into damage control mode.

[6] The Ministry of Defence (MoD) salvage department (SALMO) was contacted and assisted with logistics through local marine expert Graeme Mackenzie.