HMS Trent (P224)

Last updated

HMS Trent (P224) entered Portsmouth for the first time - 1.jpg
HMS Trent entering Portsmouth for the first time
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameTrent
OrderedAugust 2014
Builder BAE Systems Naval Ships
Laid down7 October 2015 (Steel cut)
Launched20 March 2018
Sponsored byMrs Pamela Potts
Christened13 March 2018
Commissioned3 August 2020
HomeportPortsmouth [1] (forward deployed to Gibraltar)
Identification
MottoLaureata per labore
(Latin: "Crowned with laurels through hard work")
StatusIn active service
Badge HMS Trent Badge.jpg
General characteristics
Class and typeBatch 2 River-class patrol vessel
Displacement2,000 tonnes
Length90.5 m (296 ft 11 in) [2]
Beam13 m (42 ft 8 in)
Draught3.8 m (12 ft 6 in)
Speed25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range5,500  nmi (10,200 km; 6,300 mi)
Endurance35 days
Boats & landing
craft carried		Two rigid inflatable boats
Troopsup to 50
Complement34–45 [3] [4] [5]
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
Aircraft carried Merlin-capable flight deck; small UAVs may be embarked
NotesFit with 16-tonne crane

HMS Trent is a Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel, named after the River Trent. This is the sixth Royal Navy ship named Trent. She is the third Batch 2 River-class vessel to be commissioned and is forward deployed to Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Guinea.

Contents

Construction

Trent making way into Portsmouth harbour HMS Trent (P224) entered Portsmouth for the first time - 3.jpg
Trent making way into Portsmouth harbour

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, at a fixed price of £348 million including spares and support. In August 2014, BAE Systems signed the contract to build the ships on the Clyde. The Ministry of Defence stated that the Batch 2 ships are capable of being used for constabulary duties such as "counter-terrorism, counter-piracy and anti-smuggling operations". According to BAE Systems, the vessels are designed to deploy globally, conducting anti-piracy, counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling tasks currently conducted by frigates and destroyers.

Steel was cut, marking the start of construction of Trent, on 7 October 2015 at the BAE Systems Govan shipyard in Glasgow. Trent was officially named—the equivalent to a traditional slipway launch—on the south bank of the Clyde at BAE's Govan yard on 13 March 2018, completing her first sea trials in June the following year. [12] She made her first entry into Portsmouth Harbour on 19 December 2019. [13]

Operational history

Trent was commissioned on 3 August 2020 [14] [15] and deployed to the Mediterranean for NATO Operation Sea Guardian, before returning to the UK in September. The 2021 defence white paper announced that HMS Trent would be permanently based at Gibraltar as part of the Gibraltar Squadron for operations in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Gulf of Guinea. [16] [17] Trent arrived at Gibraltar in April 2021. [18]

Soon after her arrival, Trent deployed to the Black Sea for training with the Ukrainian and allied navies (Operation Orbital). [19] Later in the year, with marines from 42 Commando on board, the patrol ship deployed to the Gulf of Guinea on counter-piracy operations. [20] [21]

Trent on Operation Orbital, 2021 HMS Trent Ukraine Operation Orbital.jpg
Trent on Operation Orbital, 2021

The ship went into dry dock in Gibraltar in mid-2022 for a maintenance and upgrade period and was to have returned to active operations in October. [22] [23] However, a further initially undisclosed problem forced her to return to dry dock shortly thereafter. [24] That same month, the ship's commanding officer was removed from his post over alleged inappropriate texts to a female subordinate. [25] In December the ship again returned to dry dock for an unknown reason. [26] As of April 2023, the ship remained under maintenance at dockside. [27]

The vessel was reported to have returned to sea in May 2023 [28] and initiated a deployment to West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea in July. [29] For her West Africa deployment, Trent again embarked a contingent from 42 Commando plus a Puma unmanned air vehicle team from 700X Naval Air Squadron. [30] [31] [32] The ship returned to Gibraltar at the end of October. [33]

Caribbean deployment 2023–2024

In early December 2023, Trent deployed to the Caribbean for an extended period to assume guardship duties there while her sister ship HMS Medway underwent a maintenance period at the Gibraltar dockyard. [34] Later that month, on 24 December, it was announced that Trent would be sent to Guyana in a show of diplomatic and military support for the former British colony. It came after neighboring Venezuela renewed its claim for a disputed part of Guyanese territory that is rich in oil and minerals. [35] [36]

Subsequently, Trent, operating in conjunction with the US Coast Guard, participated in the interception of a smuggling speedboat off the US Virgin Islands which resulted in the seizure of 94 bales of narcotics weighing 2,757 kg (6,078 lb) and worth £220.56m. [37] Two further interceptions of smuggling speedboats subsequently took place off Martinique, resulting in the combined seizure of 200 kg (440 lb) of cocaine. [38]

In May, Trent was instrumental in a further drug seizure, in which the warship seized 2.5 tonnes of cocaine from a fleeing drug smuggling boat. [39]

In July, the patrol vessel deployed to the Cayman Islands to provide assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, [40] and then in August she was deployed to the British Virgin Islands to assist after Tropical Storm Ernesto. [41] Later in the month, Trent, again operating with the US Coast Guard about 120 nautical miles (220 km; 140 mi) south of the Dominican Republic, was involved in the seizure of another 500 kg (1,100 lb) of cocaine valued at approximately £40m. [42] In September, the patrol ship intercepted a "narco submarine" attempting to smuggle £160 million worth of cocaine. [43]

Return to Gibraltar

Later in the month, HMS Trent completed her Caribbean deployment and returned to Gibraltar, stopping at Bermuda en route. [44] In October, HMS Trent departed Gibraltar for Malta to undertake her maintenance period there. [45]

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References

  1. ↑ "River class". Royal Navy. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  2. ↑ "Work begins on third Royal Navy Patrol Vessel" (Press release). Government of the United Kingdom. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "River Class". Royal Navy. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  4. ↑ "River-Class Offshore Patrol Vessels, UK". naval-technology.com. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  5. ↑ "Introducing the Royal Navy's new Offshore Patrol Vessels". BAE Systems. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  6. ↑ "Britain orders Kelvin Hughes radar system". United Press International . 14 April 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "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.
  8. ↑ "Combat Management Systems". BAE Systems . Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  9. ↑ "In focus: the 50 cal heavy machine gun in Royal Navy service". Navy Lookout. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "In focus: the Fleet Solid Support ship design". Navy Lookout. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  11. ↑ "River-Class Batch 2 OPV 'HMS Trent' Commissioned With Royal Navy". Naval News. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "HMS Trent Completes Sea Trials". Royal Navy. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  13. ↑ "Early Christmas Presence as HMS Trent Debuts in Portsmouth". Royal Navy. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  14. ↑ "HMS Trent departs on her first deployment" (Press release). Royal Navy. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  15. ↑ "HMS Trent Commissioned Into Royal Navy In Portsmouth". Forces News. Portsmouth. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  16. ↑ "What the 2021 Integrated Review means to the Royal Navy?". Naval News. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  17. ↑ Turner, Emily Jessica (31 March 2021). "HMS Trent leaves Portsmouth as she heads to her new role in the Mediterranean". The Portsmouth News. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  18. ↑ "HMS Trent arrives in Gibraltar, its new operating base". Gibraltar Chronicle. 4 April 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  19. ↑ "HMS Trent completes first mission to the Black Sea". Royal Navy. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  20. ↑ "HMS Trent on Gulf of Guinea Piracy Patrol". SeaWaves Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  21. ↑ "HMS Trent deploys on security mission to West Africa". Royal Navy. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  22. ↑ "HMS Trent opens its doors to the public". GBC. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  23. ↑ @NavyLookout (7 October 2022). "@HMSTrent returns to patrol duties today after completing maintenance period in #Gibraltar" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 October 2022– via Twitter.
  24. ↑ @NavyLookout (16 October 2022). "Something of an unfortunate theme..." (Tweet). Retrieved 18 October 2022– via Twitter.
  25. ↑ Curzon, Michael (2 November 2022). "Naval captain removed from post over 'inappropriate texts'". The Express. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  26. ↑ @NavyLookout (12 December 2022). "@HMSTrent back for (unplanned) dry docking in Gibraltar" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 December 2022– via Twitter.
  27. ↑ @NavyLookout (9 April 2023). "@HMSTrent still in maintenance alongside in #Gibraltar" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 April 2023– via Twitter.
  28. ↑ @NavyLookout (11 May 2023). "@HMSTrent leaving #Gibraltar this morning - hopefully technical problems finally cured" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 May 2023– via Twitter.
  29. ↑ @NavyLookout (26 July 2023). ".@HMSTrent sails from #Gibraltar this morning for West African deployment" (Tweet). Retrieved 30 July 2023– via Twitter.
  30. ↑ "HMS Trent gears up for impending Africa mission". Royal Navy. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  31. ↑ "Royal Navy warship assists West African nations with maritime security". Royal Navy. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  32. ↑ Moynihan, Jonathan (8 August 2023). "Royal Navy warship helps West African nations with maritime security". Forces Network. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  33. ↑ @NavyLookout (28 October 2023). "@NavyLookout. @HMSTrent returned to #Gibraltar this afternoon on completion of West Africa deployment" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 October 2023– via Twitter.
  34. ↑ "HMS Trent deploys to hunt drugs smugglers". Royal Navy. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  35. ↑ "Guyana: UK to send warship to South America amid Venezuela tensions". BBC News. 24 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  36. ↑ "HMS Trent deploys to hunt drugs smugglers". Royal Navy. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  37. ↑ "Royal Navy seizes nearly £300m of drugs in the Caribbean Sea". Royal Navy. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  38. ↑ James, Rhiannon (6 April 2024). "Royal Navy seizes drugs worth £17m after incepting smuggling speedboats". Independent. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  39. ↑ "Royal Navy Seizes Over $250M Worth of Drugs in Caribbean Sea". Marine Link. 6 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  40. ↑ "Royal Navy warship sailing to Caribbean to support hurricane relief effort". Forces Net. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  41. ↑ @NavyLookout (16 August 2024). "@NavyLookout. @HMSTrent arrived in Tortola, 🇻🇬British Virgin Islands yesterday ready to provide practical help following Tropical Storm #Ernesto" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 August 2024– via Twitter.
  42. ↑ "Navy warship seizes cocaine in Caribbean". BBC. 25 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  43. ↑ "Royal Navy hunts down Narco-sub carrying £160M of cocaine". Royal Navy. 12 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  44. ↑ @NavyLookout (27 September 2024). "@NavyLookout .@HMSTrent sailed from Hamilton, 🇧🇲Bermuda yesterday following 3 day visit. Returning to Gibraltar for refit (Will be last of the OPVs to receive the dazzle paint scheme)" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 September 2024– via Twitter.
  45. ↑ @NavyLookout (15 October 2024). "@NavyLookout. @HMSTrent departing #Gibraltar this afternoon, heading to Malta for maintenance" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 October 2024– via Twitter.
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