RV Triton
RV Triton berthed alongside HMS Belfast in the Pool of London
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | RV Triton |
Namesake | Triton |
Ordered | August 1998 |
Builder | VT Group |
Cost | Circa £20m (incl. £13.5m from VT)[2] |
Launched | 6 May 2000 |
Acquired | August 2000 |
Fate |
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Status | As of 15/2/22 she is currently moored in Hull behind the Siemens Windfarm Blade factory. [1] |
Australia | |
Name | ACV Triton |
Acquired | December 2006 |
Decommissioned | 2015 |
In service | 2006–2015 |
Identification |
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Fate | Sold and returned to UK |
Status | Laid up as of 2017 |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 2,236 GT[3] |
Length | 318 ft 3 in (97.00 m) |
Beam | 73 ft 8 in (22.45 m) |
Draught | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
Propulsion | Diesel-electric propulsion, single shaft |
Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
Range | 3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
Complement | 14 crew and up to 28 customs officers (Australian service) |
Armament | 2 × .50 calibre heavy machine guns (Australian service) |
The
Construction
In August 1998, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded a contract to Vosper Thornycroft to construct the trimaran, at a cost of £13.5m[2] RV Triton was launched at Woolston in May 2000 and delivered in August 2000. Triton then began a two-year risk reduction trials programme for the UK MoD and the US Department of Defense.
The vessel's three parallel hulls are reflected in her name which refers to the maritime god Triton who carried the three-pronged spear, the trident. The outriggers are thinner and much shorter than the dominant central hull.
Operational history
DERA and QinetiQ
Triton was designed as a demonstrator to prove that the trimaran concept would work successfully in a large warship. Following her launch in 2000, the ship began an extensive series of trials in 2001, which covered general ship handling, performance, sea-keeping behaviour, but also areas more specific to its design for which the Royal Navy had no experience. For example, a series of docking manoeuvres were undertaken by the pilot boats of HMNB Portsmouth to determine the problems of docking a large trimaran, and the ship underwent underway replenishment alongside HMS Argyll and the tanker RFA Brambleleaf to ascertain the characteristics of a trimaran and a monohull replenishing at the same time.[citation needed] Triton also undertook the first helicopter take off and landing on a trimaran.[4]
Gardline Marine Sciences
In January 2005, Triton was sold to Gardline Marine Sciences, a UK company based in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Triton was used for hydrographic survey work for the civil hydrography programme (CHP) on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The vessel was fitted with a sensor suite which includes the Kongsberg Simrad EM1002 multibeam echo-sounder, a GPS attitude/heading system, surface navigation and ultra-short baseline sub-surface acoustic tracking system, Gardline Voyager5 integrated survey system and Caris post-processing system. The vessel was enhanced by Gardline by installing a bowthrust unit, additional accommodation and survey equipment facilities. In 2009, two new MTU engines were fitted; MTU 16v 4000 M40B. Output 2,080 kW (2,790 hp) each.
Australian Customs
In December 2006, Gardline
See also
References
- ^ "Australian Merchant Navy".
- ^ a b "Commons Hansard - Written Answers to Questions". UK Parliament. 23 March 2000.
- ^ "Northern Patrol Vessel ACV Triton Fact Sheet Australian Customs Service" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 July 2008.
- ^ a b "Triton Trimaran Research Ship, United Kingdom". Retrieved 25 July 2008.
- ^ Triton boat moved from Great Yarmouth | Latest Norfolk and Suffolk Business News | Eastern Daily Press Retrieved 2019-08-04.