HMS ''Spey'' is a Batch 2 offshore patrol vessel of 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 ...

. Named after the

River Spey The River Spey (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishi ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, she is the eighth

ship to be named ''Spey'' and is the fifth Batch 2 River-class vessel to commission and is forward deployed long-term to the Indo-Pacific region with her sister 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, at a fixed price of £348 million including spares and support. In August 2014, BAE Systems signed the contract to build the ships on the

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

. The Ministry of Defence stated that the Batch 2 ships are capable of being used for constabulary duties such as "counter-terrorism, counter-piracy and anti-smuggling operations". According to BAE Systems, the vessels are designed to deploy globally, conducting anti-piracy, counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling tasks currently conducted by frigates and destroyers. A £287m order, for two further ships, and ''Spey'', and support for all five Batch 2 ships, was announced on 8 December 2016. Batch 2 ships such as ''Spey'' include some 29 modifications and enhancements over the built by BAE Systems for the

Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious war ...

. ''Tamar'' and ''Spey'' have further modifications such as carbon dioxide reducing catalytic converters. HMS-SPEY-P234-DES-2019-230-003

''Spey'' was formally named on 3 October 2019. She began contractor sea trials in September 2020, and after they were completed, left the Clyde on 28 October for the delivery voyage to Portsmouth.

Operational history

On 7 January 2021, HMS ''Spey'' was handed over to the Royal Navy in Portsmouth. In late spring 2021, ''Spey'' received "dazzle" camouflage in Falmouth in preparation for deploying to the Indo-Pacific region with sister ship ''Tamar''. ''Spey'' was commissioned into the Royal Navy at her affiliated town, Invergordon on 18 June 2021. On 7 September, ''Spey'' and sister ''Tamar'' departed Portsmouth to be forward deployed to the Indo-Pacific region for a minimum of five years. On 21 January 2022, ''Spey'' was deployed to

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

as relief aid due to the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami. In March a survey by the ship revealed that Henderson Island - part of the

Pitcairn The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four is ...

chain in the south Pacific had been mislocated in a survey in 1937 by . In 2023, ''Spey'' was deployed to Australia. In 2024 HMS Spey made her inaugural visit to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

following in the footsteps of sister vessel

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 anchored in

Port Blair Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South An ...

, a strategic port in the Andaman and Nicobar Island groups following exercises conducted with

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

Patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spey River-class patrol vessels Ships built on the River Clyde Ships of the Fishery Protection Squadron of the United Kingdom 2019 ships