HMS Medway (P223)
HMS Medway on sea trials in 2018
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Medway |
Ordered | August 2014 |
Builder | BAE Systems Naval Ships |
Laid down | 8 June 2015 (Steel cut)[1] |
Launched | 23 August 2017 |
Sponsored by | Wendy Fallon |
Christened | 20 October 2017 |
Commissioned | 19 September 2019 |
Homeport | HMNB Portsmouth[2] (forward deployed to the Caribbean) |
Identification |
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Status | In service |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Batch 2 patrol vessel |
Displacement | 2,000 tonnes |
Length | 90.5 m (296 ft 11 in)[3] |
Beam | 13 m (42 ft 8 in) |
Draught | 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in) |
Speed | 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) |
Range | 5,500 nmi (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) |
Endurance | 35 days |
Boats & landing craft carried | 2 × rigid-hulled inflatable boats |
Troops | up to 50 |
Crew | 34–45[4][5][6] |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Armament |
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Aviation facilities | Merlin -capable flight deck |
Notes | Fit with 16-tonne crane |
HMS Medway is a Batch 2
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 (more specifically, the larger
Steel was cut, marking the start of construction of Medway, on 8 June 2015 at BAE Systems Govan shipyard in Glasgow. Rather than being launched in the traditional manner, Medway was rolled onto a semi-submersible barge and lowered into the water on 23 August 2017 and was officially named a few weeks later on 20 October 2017.[13] Builder's sea trials began on 9 November 2018 and were completed by 11 December 2018.[14] Her sea trials were completed in only 75 days, a record not seen since World War II.[15] She was then transferred to the Royal Navy on 5 March 2019.
Operational history
Medway was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 19 September 2019. Arriving via her namesake river, her commissioning ceremony took place at the former Royal Navy Chatham Dockyard in Kent with her sponsor, Lady Fallon, the wife of former Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon in attendance.[15] In the following month, her first operational tasking saw her escorting a Russian Navy cruiser through the English Channel.[16]
Caribbean
In January 2020, Medway embarked on her first overseas deployment, assigned to
In October 2022, Medway was involved in another drug seizure. She captured more than 400 kg (880 lb) of cocaine worth an estimated £24m. Three smugglers were detained and the vessel was destroyed.
Falklands deployment 2023
In January 2023, Medway temporarily deployed to the Falkland Islands to take over the role of guardship there whilst her sister ship HMS Forth underwent maintenance.[27] In April, the patrol vessel was operating in the waters off South Georgia on sovereignty protection tasks.[28] In May 2023, the destroyer HMS Dauntless temporarily replaced Medway on her normal Caribbean tasking.[29]
In September, Medway conducted a search and rescue exercise with civilian-manned helicopters from Bristow Helicopters operating in the Falkland Islands. The ship also exercised with soldiers from 2nd Battalion, the Rifles, comprising the roulement infantry company stationed in the islands.[30] In November, with the return of Forth to the South Atlantic, Medway began transit to Gibraltar for a maintenance period at the Gibraltar dockyard prior to resuming her patrol duties in the Caribbean.[31][32] Given the departure of Dauntless from the Caribbean, she was temporarily replaced as Caribbean guardship by her sister ship, HMS Trent.[33]
2023–2024 refit
Near the end of 2023 Medway sailed to the Gibraltar dockyard to begin a refit and maintenance period. In the later half of April 2024 nearing the end of the refit and maintenance Medway was seen with a new dazzle camouflage paint scheme similar to HMS Tamar and HMS Spey.[34]
References
- ^ "Headway on Medway as steel is cut on Navy's new patrol ship". Royal Navy. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ "River class". Royal Navy. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ "Second Scottish built Royal Navy warship moves closer to service". GOV.UK. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- ^ "River Class | Royal Navy".
- ^ "River-Class Offshore Patrol Vessels, UK".
- ^ "Introducing the Royal Navy's new Offshore Patrol Vessels".
- ^ "Britain orders Kelvin Hughes radar system". United Press International. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ "Terma's SCANTER 4100 radar system has been selected and ordered by BAE Systems for integration on board Royal Navy's OPVs" (Press release). Terma A/S. 17 December 2014. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ "Combat Management Systems". BAE Systems. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ "River-Class Batch 2 OPV 'HMS Trent' Commissioned With Royal Navy". Naval News. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "In focus: the 50 cal heavy machine gun in Royal Navy service". Navy Lookout. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- Minister for Defence Procurement (20 October 2014). "Patrol Craft: Written question - 210211". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons.
- ^ "Make way for Medway as second new patrol ship is named". Royal Navy. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ "Medway makes headway as new patrol ship completes sea trials". Royal Navy. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
- ^ a b "HMS Medway ready for duty after Commissioning Ceremony". Portsmouth: Royal Navy. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "HMS Medway Watches Russian Cruiser Through Channel". Royal Navy. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "HMS Medway Sets Sail for the Caribbean". Royal Navy. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "HMS Medway Makes a Pit-Stop at Gibraltar". Royal Navy. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "RFA Argus and HMS Medwey Combine on Caribbean Disaster Relief Exercises". Royal Navy. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "Royal Marines Swap Arctic for Caribbean Mission". Royal Navy. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "BVI Governor Invities British Navy to Secure Borders; Overrides Premier". CNW. 26 September 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "Royal Navy Seize £81m of Cocaine in Triple Drugs Bust". Royal Navy. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "Royal Navy ship torches smugglers' boat carrying £24m of cocaine in Caribbean". Sky News. 29 October 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ Ragoonath, Reshma (1 November 2022). "UK Navy ship seizes £24M of cocaine, burns drug boat". Cayman Compass. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ Morton, Tom (29 October 2022). "Portsmouth Royal Navy warship HMS Medway seizes £24m of cocaine - and then blows up smugglers' boat". Portsmouth News. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ "Royal Navy rescues crew from sinking tug in Caribbean". The Guardian. Press Association. 7 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- ^ "Falklands patrol HMS Forth on maintenance; replaced by HMS Medway". Merco Press. 4 February 2023.
- ^ "Patrol ship HMS Medway sails into a world of stark beauty in the South Atlantic". Royal Navy. 14 April 2023.
- ^ "HMS Dauntless Deployed to Caribbean Region". Sea Waves Magazine. 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Falklands: joint helicopter/offshore patrol vessel logistics exercises". Merco Press. 8 September 2023.
- ^ @NavyLookout (13 December 2023). "@NavyLookout.@HMS_Medway arrives in #Gibraltar this morning for refit @GibdockLtd" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 December 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Royal Navy patrol ships trade places in Falklands". Royal Navy. 20 November 2023.
- ^ "HMS Trent deploys to hunt drugs smugglers". Royal Navy. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ @NavyLookout (21 April 2024). "@HMS_Medway looking smart with new dazzle paint scheme following upkeep period @GibdockLtd" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via Twitter.