| River-class patrol vessel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class overview | |
| Name: | River class |
| Builders: | Vosper Thornycroft (now BAE Systems Surface Ships) |
| Operators: |
 Royal Navy Royal Thai Navy |
| Preceded by: | Castle class |
| Subclasses: | HMS Clyde, HTMS Krabi |
| In commission: | June 2003 |
| Completed: | 5 |
| Active: | 5 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Patrol vessel |
| Displacement: | 1,677 tonnes |
| Length: | 79.5 metres |
| Beam: | 13.6 metres |
| Draught: | 3.8 metres |
| Installed power: | 4,125 kW (5,532 hp) at 1,000 rpm |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Ruston 12RK 270 diesel engines |
| Speed: | 20 kn (37 km/h) |
| Range: | 7,800 nautical miles (14,400 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h) |
| Boats & landing craft carried: | 2 × rigid inflatable boats |
| Complement: | 30, accommodation for 20 more |
| Armament: |
|
The River class is a British class of five offshore patrol vessels. Three were built for the Royal Navy, replacing the seven ships of the Island class, along with a fourth, a modified vessel based on the River class which replaced the Castle class, for duties in the Falklands. They are primarily used in the fisheries protection role. A fifth was built for the Royal Thai Navy.
Ships in class[]
| Name | Pennant No. | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Recommissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| River-class patrol vessel (Royal Navy) | |||||||
| Batch 1 | |||||||
| Tyne | P281 | VT Shipbuilding, Southampton | 27 April 2002 | 4 July 2003 | 24 May 2018 | 25 July 2018 | In active service |
| Severn | P282 | 4 December 2002 | 31 July 2003 | 27 October 2017 | To be reactivated | ||
| Mersey | P283 | 14 June 2003 | 28 November 2003 | In active service | |||
| Modified Batch 1 | |||||||
| Clyde | P257 | VT Shipbuilding, Portsmouth | 14 June 2006 | 30 January 2007 | In active service | ||
| Batch 2 | |||||||
| Forth[1] | P222 | BAE Systems, Glasgow | 20 August 2016 | 13 April 2018[2] | In active service | ||
| Medway[1] | P223[3] | 23 August 2017 | 2019[4] | Awaiting commissioning | |||
| Trent[1] | P224[3] | 20 March 2018 | 2019[4] | Sea Trials | |||
| Tamar[5] | P233[6] | 10 October 2018 | 2021[4] | Fitting out | |||
| Spey[5] | P234[7] | 19 June 2019 | 2021[4] | Fitting out | |||
| Amazonas-class corvette (Brazilian Navy) | |||||||
| Amazonas | P120 | BAE Systems, Portsmouth | 18 November 2009 | 29 June 2012 | In active service | ||
| Apa | P121 | BAE Systems, Scotstoun | 15 July 2010 | 30 November 2012 | In active service | ||
| Araguari | P122 | 16 July 2010 | 21 June 2013 | In active service | |||
| Krabi patrol vessel (Royal Thai Navy) | |||||||
| Krabi | 551 | Bangkok Dock Company | 3 December 2011 | 26 August 2013 | In active service | ||
| Prachuap Khiri Khan | 552 | 2 August 2019 | TBA | Under construction | |||
Design[]
The ships are significantly larger than the Island-class vessels and have a large open deck aft allowing them to be fitted with equipment for a specific role, which can include fire-fighting, disaster relief and anti-pollution work. For this purpose, a 25 tonne capacity crane is fitted. In addition, the deck is strong enough for the transport of various tracked and wheeled light vehicles, or an LCVP.
Ownership[]
Initially the three ships were not owned by the Royal Navy. They were constructed under an arrangement with the shipbuilder, Vosper Thornycroft (VT), under which the Royal Navy leased the vessels from the shipbuilder for a period of ten years. VT were responsible for all maintenance and support for the ships during the charter period. At the end of this, the Navy could then either return the ships, renew the lease or purchase them outright.
In September 2012, it was announced by the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond that the Ministry of Defence had purchased the vessels for £39 million.[8]
Running costs[]
| Date | Running cost | What is included | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | £5 million | "The average running cost per class of River Class is £20 million... These figures, based on the expenditure incurred by the Ministry of Defence in 2009-10, include maintenance, safety certification, military upgrades, manpower, inventory, satellite communication, fuel costs and depreciation." | [9] |
Modified River class[]
Clyde off the Falkland Islands
HMS Clyde: A modified fourth vessel, HMS Clyde, constructed at Portsmouth Dockyard, replaced the two vessels of the Castle-class for duties in the Falkland Islands. This ship displaces 1,850 tonnes and has a 30mm gun, as well as a deck strengthened for aircraft operations.
HTMS Krabi: Another vessel was built for the Royal Thai Navy called HTMS Krabi. This ship was built in Thailand but designed by BAE Systems. On this ship the main gun was changed to a 76mm gun.
HMS Severn, Portsmouth 2013
[]
The Brazilian Navy's Amazonas-class corvettes, built by BAE in the United Kingdom, are based on the River-class design.
[]
On 6 November 2013 it was announced that the Royal Navy has ordered three further modified River-class vessels, to replace HM Ships Tyne, Severn and Mersey. The new batch is to be built at BAE's Clyde shipyards and will feature helicopter landing facilities. The first of the new ships is expected to enter service in 2017.[10]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedMOD2014 - ↑ "Portsmouth to welcome a new warship into service today". 13 April 2018. https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/defence/portsmouth-to-welcome-a-new-warship-into-service-today-1-8457086.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bush, Steve (2016). British Warships and Auxiliaries 2017. Navy Books. pp. 23. ISBN 9781904459699.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "The Forth is with us - the first of five new patrol ships is named on the Clyde". 9 March 2017. http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2017/march/09/170309-the-first-of-five-new-patrol-ships-is-named.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Allison, George (8 December 2016). "New Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessels ordered and named". https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/new-royal-navy-offshore-patrol-vessels-ordered-named/. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ↑ "OPVTAMAR". https://twitter.com/hashtag/OPVTAMAR?src=hash&lang=en.
- ↑ "OPVSPEY". https://twitter.com/hashtag/SPEYOPV?src=hash.
- ↑ "MoD buys £39m patrol ships from BAE". Press Association. 13 September 2012. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hHA3AzaCDBuUhBp7Zdq6naq3SnQQ?docId=N0153401347543704268A. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
- ↑ Hansard 24 November 2010 Written Answers.
- ↑ "MOD plans to commission 3 new ocean-going offshore patrol vessels for the Royal Navy.". MOD. 6 November 2013. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-offshore-patrol-vessels-for-royal-navy. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
External links[]
Mersey departing Portsmouth Naval Base on 12 November 2008
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The original article can be found at River-class patrol vessel and the edit history here.