HMS ''Inverness'' (M102) was a ''Sandown''-class

minehunter A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destroys individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines. A vessel that combines both of these roles is known as a ...

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 ...

. She was decommissioned by the Royal Navy in 2005, and in 2008 became EML ''Sakala'' (M314) of the

Estonian Navy The Estonian Navy ( et, Merevägi) are the unified naval forces among the Estonian Defence Forces. With only six commissioned ships and displacement well under 10,000 tonnes, the Estonian navy is one of the smallest navies in the world. Its sh ...

HMS Inverness

''Inverness'' was built by

Vosper Thornycroft VT Group is a privately held United States defense and services company, with its origins in a former British shipbuilding group, previously known as Vosper Thornycroft. The British part of VT Group was integrated into Babcock International in t ...

and launched on 27 February 1990 as one of the 12 ship class of ''Sandown''-class minehunters. ''Inverness'' took part in the major joint service Exercise Saif Sareea II in

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

throughout October 2001, and also trained on her way back from the Gulf as part of the overarching Exercise Argonaut 2001 maritime task group. During Exercise Saif Sareea II, ''Inverness'' formed part of a minehunter group with her sisters , and the Hunt-class

mine countermeasure vessel A mine countermeasures vessel or MCMV is a type of naval ship designed for the location of and destruction of naval mines which combines the role of a minesweeper and minehunter A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destr ...

s and , supported by . In 2003, ''Inverness'' was one of a number of Royal Navy warships taking part in a multi-national exercises off Scotland, which involved ships and aircraft from a number of the world's navies, including French, German and American units. HMS ''Inverness'' was awarded the Freedom of the City of Inverness in 2004. In July 2004, the UK Ministry of Defence announced that as part of the restructuring of the Navy, the three oldest ''Sandown''-class minehunters would be retired by April 2005. ''Inverness'' was decommissioned in 2005 and was then laid up awaiting a buyer or disposal. In September 2006,

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

signed a contract to acquire the three vessels. After refitting in

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

''Inverness'' was formally handed over to the

in April 2007, and renamed .

EML Sakala (M314)

''Sakala'' belongs to the Estonian Mineships Division. She is the fourth vessel of the Estonian Navy Mineships Division and second of three modernized ''Sandown'' class minehunters purchased from the Royal Navy. The coat of arms was presented on a ceremony on 24 January 2008 in Scotland. The ship's name comes from an ancient Estonian county Sakala which is today known as

Viljandimaa Viljandi County ( et, Viljandi maakond or ''Viljandimaa''; german: Kreis Fellin) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in southern Estonia bordering Pärnu, Järva, Jõgeva, Tartu and Valga counties. History Viljandimaa, under the ...

but is often called Sakalamaa. The arms are a black shield which represents the rich soils of Sakala and ethnic Estonian men's clothing. The rose points towards the capital of Sakalamaa. The swords represent Sakala's important role in the Estonian ancient freedom fight and fighting spirit, as silver stands for loyalty. The ship's motto in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

is ''"In nomine libertatis”'' meaning "In the name of freedom". The coat of arms was designed by

Priit Herodes Priit Herodes (born 14 January 1948) is an Estonian heraldist. From 2000 to 2006, Herodes was the chairman of the Estonian Heritage Society and is currently a member of their board. He has designed numerous hues and flags, including the emblems ...

. In December 2018 ''Sakala'' arrived at the Babcock site at

Rosyth Dockyard Rosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which formerly undertook refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels and submarines. Before its privatisation in the 1990s it was ...

for a series of modifications and upgrades, which included the Thales Sonar 2193 navigation system and the Thales M-CUBE command and control system.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Inverness (M102) Sandown-class minehunters Ships built in Southampton 1990 ships Sandown-class minehunters of the Estonian Navy Estonian Mineships Division Minehunters of Estonia

HMS Inverness

EML Sakala (M314)

See also

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External links