LONDON, Aug 28: Eighteen sailors on a Royal Navy warship have failed a routine drugs test during deployment in the South Atlantic, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Thursday.

It was the biggest such incident in the Royal Navy’s history.

The results came during a regular compulsory drug test onboard HMS Liverpool, a Type 42 Destroyer.

“The Royal Navy does not tolerate misuse of drugs by its personnel and internal action is under way against all 18 individuals,” the MoD said in a statement.

“Notwithstanding the numbers involved in this single unprecedented incident, which is being treated very seriously, it has not affected the ship’s ability to do its job.”

HMS Liverpool, which has 240 crew onboard, has most recently been taking part in a joint exercise around the Island of South Georgia. She regularly patrols the Falklands.

In the past, the warship had been used in combating drug smuggling in the Caribbean, though there is no link with the current incident.

The 18 sailors were tested after having gone ashore during a break in Brazil, media reports said.

It is not clear what drugs were involved, and whether the 18 included women.

Routine policy is for MoD servicemen who fail a drugs test not to be allowed to continue in the forces.—Reuters