HMS ''Forth'' is a Batch 2

offshore patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

in active service with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. Named after the

River Forth The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of th ...

, she is the first Batch 2 River-class vessel to be built. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 13 April 2018, following a commissioning ceremony at her homeport

HMNB Portsmouth His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is lo ...

. In January 2020 she replaced HMS ''Clyde'' as the Falklands patrol ship.

Construction

On 6 November 2013, it was announced that the Royal Navy had signed an agreement in principle to build three new offshore patrol vessels based on the River-class design similar to the larger derivative built at a fixed price of £348 million, including spares and support. In August 2014,

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

signed a contract to build the ships on the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

in Scotland. The ships, which were designated Batch 2 of the River class, were to be globally-deployable and capable of carrying out constabulary tasks, such as counter-terrorism, counter-piracy and anti-smuggling. As the first ship of the new batch, ''Forth'', included some 29 modifications and enhancements over the baseline ''Amazonas'' design. Steel was first cut for ''Forth'' on 10 October 2014 at BAE Systems'

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

shipyard in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. She was launched in September 2016, being floated off a semi-submersible

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

in the Clyde rather than receiving a traditional dynamic launch. After launch, she was moved down the Clyde for fitting out at BAE Systems' Scotstoun shipyard. She was christened at a ceremony at Scotstoun on 9 March 2017. In late March 2017, it was announced that the crew of Batch 1 vessel would be transferred to ''Forth'' to bring her into service. On 31 August 2017, ''Forth'' sailed for contractor

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s. It was reported in October 2017 that ''Forth'' had been earmarked to replace as the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

guardship. It was announced on 25 January 2018 that ''Forth'' had been accepted by the Ministry of Defence from BAE Systems and would shortly sail to HM Naval Base Portsmouth for commissioning. She arrived in Portsmouth for the first time on 26 February 2018.

Operational history

Commissioning and early faults

''Forth'' was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 13 April 2018 following a ceremony at

. Soon after her commissioning, some faults were identified with her electrical system and sheared bolts were also discovered with heads that had been glued back on. In June 2018, it was announced that ''Forth'' would be entering dry dock for major rectification work which was likely to take more than three months. The Royal Navy reactivated to cover planned patrols by ''Forth'' with BAE Systems covering the additional costs. In October, Anderson Smith, BAE Systems Commercial Director – Naval Ships, admitted that "minor defects" had been found but announced that they had since been fixed. In June 2019, ''Forth'' underwent operational sea training in British waters in preparation for her first operational deployment. She later sailed from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

to escort a Russian Navy patrol ship which was transiting through the UK's area of interest. She then made her inaugural fishery protection patrol and her first visit to an overseas port, which was to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

before again escorting the same Russian ship through the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

Falkland Islands

On 13 January 2020, ''Forth'' arrived at the

East Cove Military Port Mare Harbour is a small settlement on East Falkland, on Choiseul Sound. It is mostly used as a port facility and depot for RAF Mount Pleasant, as well as a deepwater port used by the Royal Navy ships patrolling the South Atlantic and Antarctica, ...

in the Falkland Islands on her first operational deployment, taking over from her older half-sister ''Clyde'' as the permanently-stationed guardship. Prior to her arrival, she exercised with

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Typhoon FGR4 The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twinjet, twin-engine, canard (aeronautics), canard delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactu ...

interceptor Interceptor may refer to: Vehicles * Interceptor aircraft (or simply "interceptor"), a type of point defense fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft * Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, a police car * ...

s to trial how the platforms could operate together. As part of her deployment, ''Forth'' was on standby to assist the island's authorities in anything from ceremonial events to emergencies. Her support also extended to the nearby

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = , song = , image_map = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in United Kingdom.svg , map_caption = Location of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Oce ...

. On 21 April 2021, ''Forth'' traveled to the island of

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena ...

and delivered enough of the

Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine The Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID19 vaccine, sold under the brand names Covishield and Vaxzevria among others, is a viral vector vaccine for prevention of COVID-19. Developed in the United Kingdom by Oxford University and British-Swedish comp ...

for the island's entire population to be completely vaccinated. In February/March 2023, ''Forth'' transitted to

for refit and was replaced in the South Atlantic by . As part of this refit she has been painted in a new

Dazzle Camouflage Dazzle camouflage, also known as razzle dazzle (in the U.S.) or dazzle painting, is a family of ship camouflage that was used extensively in World War I, and to a lesser extent in World War II and afterwards. Credited to the British marine ar ...

like her sister ships

HMS Tamar Six ships and a naval station of the Royal Navy have been called HMS ''Tamar'', after the River Tamar in South West England: * was a 16-gun sloop launched at Saltash in 1758 and stationed in Newfoundland from 1763. She was renamed HMS ''Plut ...

and

HMS Spey Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Spey'', after the River Spey, in Scotland: * was a 20-gun sixth rate launched in 1814 and sold in 1822; she then was sold to the New Grenada Patriots of 1821 and became their naval brig ''B ...

Affiliations

* City of

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

* TS ''Forth'',

Grangemouth Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk ...

* Worshipful Company of Builders Merchants * The Governor of

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

* London Scottish Regimental Trust *

Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry (SNIY) is a reserve Light Cavalry Regiment, formed in 2014, created out of the restructuring of the British Army's Territorial Army. It is operationally paired with The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, (SCOTS D ...

* Deanston Distillery *

Lord Lieutenant of Stirling and Falkirk This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Stirling and Falkirk. This office replaced the Lord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire in 1975. *Edward Younger, 3rd Viscount Younger of Leckie 1975–1979 (previously Lord Lieutenant o ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forth River-class patrol vessels Ships built on the River Clyde 2016 ships Ships of the Fishery Protection Squadron of the United Kingdom