On 27 October 2002, before entering operational service, St Albans was struck by the P&O ferryPride of Portsmouth when gale-force winds pushed the ferry into the ship whilst secure on her berth in Portsmouth. St Albans suffered damage to the gun deck, the sea boat supports (davits) and the bridge wing. However, no members of the crew were injured.[11] In 2004, Commander Steve Dainton RN took command and the ship was deployed on Operation Oracle duties in the Arabian Sea. In July that year the crew were granted the Freedom of the City by the Mayor of St Albans.
On 13 February 2006, St Albans departed on a six-month deployment to the Gulf region. She arrived in the region in early April, where her tasks included protecting Iraqi oil platforms as well as patrol duties in the northern Gulf.[12] During the trip, she provided a diplomatic role by visiting 16 countries, including Algeria, Albania, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Lebanon. By 12 July 2006 she had completed her tour in the Gulf and had begun her long journey back to Portsmouth via the Suez Canal and the eastern Mediterranean. However, on the same day, the conflict between Israel and Lebanon began. As a result, the Ministry of Defence announced on 17 July that year that St Albans had been redeployed to assist in Operation Highbrow, the evacuation of British citizens trapped in Lebanon.[13] She arrived in the area on 20 July and the following day picked up 243 evacuees from the dock in Beirut and safely transported them to Cyprus.[14] After completing her role in the evacuation, she remained on operational stand-by in the vicinity of Beirut for a short time before being resuming her voyage home. The ship finally arrived back in Portsmouth on 18 August 2006.[15]
Following the ship's successful six-month tour, St Albans underwent maintenance. During this time, the ship received a new commanding officer, Commander Mark Newland RN. The ship stayed in British waters, participated in submarine training in the Irish Sea, weapon training off the south coast and visited Glasgow on 11 November 2006 to take part in Remembrance Sunday events.
From 5 January until 15 January 2007 the ship was open to the public as part of the London Boat Show. Following this, the ship conducted various training exercises and engineering trials in the UK. The ship's crew then went on Easter leave before returning to conduct more training activities. In May 2007, St Albans entered a period of maintenance that lasted over a year, with her crew temporarily reassigned to other vessels for the duration of the work. The maintenance programme took place in dry dock, situated in Rosyth, with a skeleton crew of engineers supervising the overhaul of several of the ship's systems. Their work included the installation of a new Type 2087 sonar system and converting the ship so that she could operate Merlin helicopters.[16] The upgrade took 15 months and cost £15 million. The ship then returned to her home port of Portsmouth and was accepted back into the fleet in July 2008. The ship was then put through various equipment tests and training routines throughout the later part of the year.
St Albans left Portsmouth on 19 January 2009 to conduct maritime security patrols in the Mediterranean. The ship joined a NATO Task Group in the Mediterranean, protecting busy shipping trade routes. St Albans was also a part of the rapid-response NATO Response Force (NRF). The ship also visited ports in Majorca, Italy and Egypt whilst in the region. She arrived on the Clyde on 7 May 2009 at 1500hrs, heading for Faslane.
St Albans was deployed in the Persian Gulf until mid-2010. She left Portsmouth on 1000hrs on 1 February on a deployment including supporting international efforts in "tackling piracy, illegal trafficking, and smuggling."[17] Later in that deployment St Albans helped the Iraqi government "protect their oil platforms, and provide security to ensure regional stability".[17] After completing her tour in the Middle East, she visited Grand Harbour, Malta for four days in July 2010 on her way back to the United Kingdom.[18]
The Worshipful Company of Marketors became affiliated to HMS St Albans in 2011. The warship helped in the recovery of a diver who had got into difficulties near Salcombe on 26 March 2011, although the diver was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.[19] On 1 July 2011, St Albans rescued 13 sailors off the coast of Oman from the stricken tanker MV Pavit, which had spent three days drifting in a heavy storm after losing power. St Albans used her Merlin helicopter embarked from 829 Naval Air Squadron to winch the crew to safety. The rescued sailors were later transferred to their sister ship, the MV Jag Pushpa. After operating in the Middle East conducting counter-terrorism and anti-piracy operations, having relieved the frigate HMSIron Duke,[20][21] She returned to Portsmouth, via Malta and Lisbon, in December 2011.[22]
In March 2012, HMS St Albans visited the Pool of London where she entertained a number of her affiliate organisations and other guests before returning to her home port of Portsmouth to conduct exercises in the Western Approaches. In May, she visited Iceland, where the captain Cdr Tom Sharpe and Britain's Ambassador to IcelandIan Whitting cast a wreath into Hvalfjörður, once a staging point for the Arctic Convoys to the Soviet Union. After a return to Portsmouth, she sailed up the Elbe to Hamburg to take part in the port's 823rd birthday celebrations. In June, St Albans visited the home of the German Navy in Kiel, joining in the huge maritime event attended by 50 countries, 2000 yachts and pleasure craft and more than 5,000 yachtsmen and women. Before joining in the celebrations, members of the ship's company, two platoons and the ship's guard headed to a remembrance service and wreath laying at the Commonwealth Cemetery at Nordfriedhof.[23]
HMS St Albans continued her home duties visiting the Channel Islands and Holyhead with an extended tour visiting Stavanger, Oslo and Amsterdam. During this deployment she was the last ship to fire the Royal Navy's 4.5" Mk.8 Mod 0 gun off Stavanger.[24] In May 2013 she was handed over to BAe Systems for a refit in Portsmouth Harbour, her home port, silently coached into C lock. She remained in dock until spring 2014 to be modernised for another 10 years. On 10 December 2013, Commander Catherine Jordan RN took command of the ship.[25][26][27]
The refit was a mid-life upgrade, modernizing the ship for the following ten years – it cost £25million and was completed on time in spring 2014.[25] It fitted her with the all-electric 'Kryten' 4.5" Mod1 gun and the mid-life upgrade to her Sea Wolf missile system together with a wide range of more detailed improvements. A new crew was then assembled and the ship undertook an extended period of trials developing her military capability and testing her systems integration. During the trials the ship visited Plymouth and Falmouth.
On 3 November 2014 the ship passed her Material Assessment and Safety Check and her Rededication Ceremony was on 1 August 2014[citation needed], after which she rejoined the fleet.[25] In December 2014 HMS St Albans visited London, mooring alongside HMSBelfast in the Pool of London, and then sailed across the North Sea and down the Nieuwe Maas to visit Rotterdam.
Still based in Portsmouth, she continued trials in the Western English Channel and then visited Trondheim in Norway and continued live firing trials. After completing her extensive Flag Officer Sea Training trails, based at Plymouth, she entered West India Dock, London on 7 July 2015 and then sailed back to Portsmouth. She arrived on 16 July 2015 and became the Guard ship for the Portsmouth America's Cup races later that month. St Albans sailed for a nine-month mission to the Middle East on 27 November 2015, carrying a Merlin HM2 and ScanEagle UAV.[28]
Whilst crossing the Mediterranean she was involved with the seizure of 320kg of cocaine with a street value of more than £1 million. On 11 January 2016, Defence SecretaryMichael Fallon announced that "HMS St Albans will shortly join the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier group" as part of operations against the Islamic State group.[29] She arrived back in Portsmouth on 5 August 2016.
In January 2017 she escorted the Russian aircraft carrierAdmiral Kuznetsov along the English Channel on the latter's return voyage from Syria to Kola Bay.[30]
During February 2017 she conducted the Submarine Command Course off the Norwegian Coast and was then awarded the Fleet Effectiveness Flag. She then went into dry dock 'C' in Portsmouth for most of July 2017. Whilst in dry dock, the band of the Royal Yeomanry played under the keel. She returned to service on 29 August 2017 and was operational north of Scotland where she was "man marking" the Russian carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. From 23 to 25 December, she escorted the Russian frigateAdmiral Gorshkov which was conducting sea trials in the North Sea close to UK waters.[31]
It was reported in November 2018 that she took part in anti-submarine warfare exercises with Astute.[32]
St Albans entered refit in Devonport in July 2019, led by Babcock defence firm. Her refit required around 1.2 million working hours and involved replacing all four diesel engines, installing LED lighting, adapting the ship for the future anti-surface guided weapon system Sea Venom, replacing the original Sea Wolf air defence system with Sea Ceptor, upgrading the ships sensors with the new Type 997 Artisan air-search radar and fitting the submarine-hunting Type 2150 Sonar in place of 2050. St Albans is now the Royal Navy's most advanced frigate, thanks to these improvements.[33] She started her post-refit sea trials in March 2024.[34]
Affiliations
After refit, moored at South Quay in 2015Aft view of St Albans showing the helicopter hangar
HMS St Albans is principally affiliated to the current Duke of St Albans. The ship is also affiliated to:[35]
The Type 23 frigate or Duke class is a class of frigates built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The ships are named after British Dukes, thus leading to the class being commonly known as the Duke class. The first Type 23, HMS Norfolk, was commissioned in 1989, and the sixteenth, HMS St Albans was commissioned in June 2002. They form the core of the Royal Navy's destroyer and frigate fleet and serve alongside the Type 45 destroyers. They were designed for anti-submarine warfare, but have been used for a range of uses. Ten Type 23 frigates remain in service with the Royal Navy, with three vessels having been sold to the Chilean Navy, one being retired in 2021, and two being retired in 2023.
HMS Montrose was the eighth of the sixteen-ship Type 23 or Duke class of frigates, of the Royal Navy, named after the Duke of Montrose. She was laid down in November 1989 by Yarrow Shipbuilders on the Clyde, and was launched on 31 July 1992 by Edith Rifkind, wife of Malcolm Rifkind, Secretary of State for Defence. She was commissioned into service in June 1994.
The third and current HMS Argyll is a Type 23 Duke-class frigate. She is currently the oldest serving Type 23 frigate in the Royal Navy. Like all of her class she is named after a British dukedom, in this case that of Argyll. HMS Argyll was laid down in March 1987 by Yarrow Shipbuilders at Glasgow, and launched in 1989 by Lady Wendy Levene, sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Paviors. She was commissioned in May 1991. Argyll is currently based at HMNB Devonport.
HMS Lancaster is a Duke-class Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy, launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 May 1990. The ship is known as "The Queen's Frigate", the Duke of Lancaster being a subsidiary title of the Sovereign. Being the third ship in the Type 23 class, Lancaster was originally allocated the pennant number F232 until it was noted that the 232 is the Royal Navy report form for groundings and collisions and therefore considered unlucky. She is one of the few ships left in the fleet with some female officers but mess decks which are men-only. It is quite common when she has returned from long operations that she is flown over by the Avro Lancaster bomber which is part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight based at RAF Coningsby.
HMS Iron Duke is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy, and the third ship to bear the name.
HMS Monmouth was the sixth "Duke"-class Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She was the seventh ship to bear the name and was launched by Lady Eaton in 1991, being commissioned two years later.
HMS Westminster is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy, and the second ship to bear the name. She was launched on 4 February 1992 and named after the Dukedom of Westminster.
HMS Northumberland is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She is named after the Duke of Northumberland. She is the eighth RN ship to bear the name since the first 70-gun ship of the line in 1679, and the ninth in the class of Type 23 frigates. She is based at Devonport and is part of the Devonport Flotilla.
HMS Richmond is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 6 April 1993 by Lady Hill-Norton, wife of the late Admiral of the Fleet The Lord Hill-Norton, and was the last warship to be built by Swan Hunter Shipbuilders. She sailed from the builders on the River Tyne in November 1994. She is named for the Dukedom of Richmond.
HMS Somerset is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She is the eleventh ship of the class to join the fleet since 1989. She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd on the River Clyde, in Scotland and was launched in June 1994 by Lady Elspeth Layard, wife of then 2nd Sea Lord Admiral and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command Admiral Sir Michael Layard. She entered service in 1996. Lady Layard is the ship's sponsor. She is named after the Dukedom of Somerset.
HMS Sutherland is a Type 23 frigate of the British Royal Navy. She is the thirteenth ship in the Duke class of frigates and is the third ship to bear the name, more than 200 years since the name was last used.
HMS Kent is a Type 23 Duke class frigate of the Royal Navy, and the twelfth ship to bear the name, although formally she is named after the dukedom rather than the county. Sponsored by Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy, Kent was launched on 28 May 1998 and commissioned on 8 June 2000 under the command of then Commander John Clink. She was the first ship to enter Royal Navy service in the 21st century and the first Royal Navy warship with a female Executive Officer, Lt Cdr Vanessa Jane Spiller, appointed in April 2001.
HMS Portland is a Type 23 frigate of the British Royal Navy. She is the eighth ship to bear the name and is the fifteenth and penultimate ship of the 'Duke' class of frigates, and is named for the currently extinct title of the Dukedom of Portland, and more particularly for the third Duke, who was Prime Minister.
HMS Gloucester was a Batch 3 Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy, built by Vosper Thorneycroft at Woolston, Southampton and launched on 2 November 1982 by The Duchess of Gloucester. Gloucester was one of the modified last four of the class to be built, having a lengthened hull design giving better seakeeping qualities, greater endurance and an external 'strake' to counter longitudinal cracking, seen on earlier ships of the type. The flight deck recognition letters worn by Gloucester were GC, and her international callsign was GBBF.
HMS Bulwark is the second ship of the Royal Navy's Albion-class assault ships. She is one of the United Kingdom's two landing platform docks designed to put Royal Marines ashore by air and by sea.
HMS Daring is the lead ship of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the Royal Navy, and the seventh ship to hold that name. She was launched in 2006 on the Clyde and conducted contractor's sea trials during 2007 and 2008. She was handed over to the Royal Navy in December 2008, entered her base port of Portsmouth for the first time in January 2009 and was formally commissioned on 23 July 2009. As the lead ship of the first destroyer class built for the Royal Navy since the Type 42 in the 1970s, she has attracted significant media and public attention. Her name, crest and motto are a reference to the Roman youth Gaius Mucius Scaevola, famed for his bravery.
HMS Dauntless is the second ship of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the British Royal Navy. She was launched at Govan in January 2007, was handed over to the Royal Navy on 3 December 2009 and was formally commissioned on 3 June 2010.
HMS Dragon is the fourth ship of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in November 2008 and commissioned on 20 April 2012.
HMS Duncan is the sixth and last of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the Royal Navy and launched in 2010. Duncan is named after Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan, who defeated the Dutch fleet at the Battle of Camperdown on 11 October 1797. The destroyer has served in the Mediterranean, Black, and Caribbean Seas, and in 2019 was deployed to the Persian Gulf in response to increased tensions with Iran in the region.
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