Newer is always better
The Royal Navy also likes pointless change.
Formica is cheaper than wood or metal and much easier to keep clean. You can have a nice, shiny boat if you use Formica.
That cotton outerwear the ratings have looks awfully crumpled and unmilitary. Replace it all with polyester.
After that unpleasantness in The Falklands, top brass realised that Formica splinters into thousands of shards and flechettes in an explosion. None of which show up on X-rays, which is handy.
Also, cotton anti-flash doesn't melt onto your skin, unlike the plastic stuff.
Must have shiny.