The arrival Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu in Constanța | |
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | Blyth |
Builder | Vosper Thornycroft |
Launched | 4 July 2000 |
Commissioned | 19 July 2001 |
Decommissioned | 4 August 2021 |
Identification |
|
Status | Transferred to Romania [1] [2] |
Romania | |
Name | Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu |
Namesake | Ion Ghiculescu |
Acquired | October 2022 |
Commissioned | 27 September 2023 |
Identification |
|
Status | In active service |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Sandown-class minehunter |
Displacement | 600 t (590 long tons) [3] |
Length | 52.5 m (172 ft 3 in) |
Beam | 10.9 m (35 ft 9 in) |
Draught | 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion | |
Speed | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
Complement | 34 (accommodation for up to 40) |
Sensors and processing systems | |
Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
Armament |
|
Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu (M270) is a Sandown-class minehunter of the Romanian Naval Forces. She was built as HMS Blyth (M111), for the Royal Navy, the eleventh of this class of twelve Single-Role Minehunters (SRMH) ships. She was laid down on 30 May 1999 by Vosper Thornycroft at their Woolston, Southampton shipyard, launched in May 2000 and entered service for the Royal Navy in February 2001. [4] She was the second vessel to carry this name, the first being a Bangor-class minesweeper of the Second World War, wearing pennant number J15. Blyth served in the Middle East as part of the 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron.
HMS Blyth was deployed to the Middle East on Operation Aintree by the Royal Navy in 2007 and 2008, together with her sister ship, HMS Ramsey, to test the class capabilities in the hot climate and maintain force operational capability in the region. Crews from other Sandown-class vessels were rotated through the two ships. [5] [6]
Blyth was based at HMS Jufair as one of four minehunters of 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron [7] supported by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary Bay-class landing ship on Operation Kipion until 2020, when she was replaced in theatre by HMS Penzance.
On 27 November 2020 the Royal Navy announced that the commanding officer of Blyth had been awarded the MBE for his leadership in Gulf peacekeeping efforts. [8]
On 10 February 2021, the Royal Navy announced that Blyth was being re-deployed to link-up with the Dutch-led NATO force operating in the North Sea. [9] Blyth (together with Ramsey) was decommissioned in a joint ceremony at Rosyth on 4 August 2021. [10] Following a refit by Babcock both vessels were initially earmarked for the Ukrainian Navy to "enjoy a fresh lease of life in the Black Sea". [11] However, in October 2022 it was reported that plan had subsequently altered to transfer both ships to the Romanian Navy instead. [12] [13]
On 28 September 2023, the Royal Navy confirmed that Sandown-class mine countermeasures vessels, Blyth and HMS Pembroke, had been sold to Romania, one of the UK's NATO allies, by the Defence Equipment Sales Authority (DESA), which disposes of vehicles and equipment no longer needed by UK Armed Forces. [14]
Ex-Blyth was officially taken over by the Romanian Navy during a ceremony that took place at Rosyth on 27 September 2023. She was renamed Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu, a name also carried by the World War II gunboat NMS Sublocotenent Ghiculescu, and received the pennant number M270. The crew of 40 sailors under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Denis Giubernea, continued training, evaluation, and certification activities until 15 November when the ship departed Rosyth for Constanța. [13] [15] Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu arrived in the port of Constanța on 19 December 2023. She joined up with the 146th Mining-Demining Ships Divizion. [16]
The Hunt class is a class of thirteen mine countermeasure vessels of the Royal Navy. As built, they combined the separate roles of the traditional minesweeper and that of the active minehunter in one hull, but later modifications saw the removal of mine-sweeping equipment. They have a secondary role as offshore patrol vessels.
The Sandown class is a class of fifteen minehunters built primarily for the Royal Navy by Vosper Thornycroft. The Sandown class also serve with the Royal Saudi Navy, the Estonian Navy, and the Ukrainian Navy. The first vessel was commissioned into Royal Navy service on 9 June 1989 and all the British ships were named after coastal towns and cities. Although the class had a primary mine countermeasures role, they have had a secondary role as offshore patrol vessels. As of early 2024, only one vessel of the class remains in active service with the Royal Navy.
The Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) was the admiral responsible for the operations of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the British Royal Navy from 1971 until April 2012. The post was subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Naval Service. In its last years, as the Navy shrank, more administrative responsibilities were added.
HMS Bangor is a Sandown-class minehunter commissioned by the Royal Navy in 1999. Designed to hunt naval mines in depths of up to 200 m (660 ft) using the Sonar 2093 Variable Depth Sonar (VDS) meaning that she can conduct mine clearance operations throughout the continental shelf. She is named after the Northern Ireland seaside city of the same name, and the second Royal Navy vessel to bear the name. As of January 2024, she was the last vessel of her class in active Royal Navy service.
HMS Grimsby was a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy, serving from 1999–2022, and the second ship to bear the name.
HMS Ledbury, the second ship of the name, is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the Royal Navy. She was launched in December 1979 and commissioned on 11 June 1981, the second ship of her class. She cost £65 million at time of building, which was at the time the most expensive cost-per-metre for any class of ship built by the Royal Navy. Most of this cost went into the research and development of Ledbury's glass reinforced plastic hull.
HMS Cattistock, the third ship of this name, is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1981 and commissioned on 5 March 1982, the third ship of her class.
HMS Penzance was a Sandown-class minehunter commissioned by the Royal Navy in 1998. She was named after the seaside town of Penzance in Cornwall, and was the fourth vessel to bear the name. She was decommissioned in January 2024.
HMS Pembroke was a Sandown-class minehunter of the Royal Navy (RN), the second ship launched from the class' second batch, with several improvements over the first five built.
HMS Ramsey was a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. Like other vessels of the Sandown class, Ramsey was built of glass-reinforced plastic and other non-magnetic materials so that her hull does not trigger naval mines as easily as standard warships.
HMS Shoreham was a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. She was the fifth vessel to bear the name. From 2018 to 2021, Shoreham was deployed at UKNSF Bahrain together with three other mine countermeasures ships as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron on Operation Kipion. In 2022 she was decommissioned and was transferred to Ukraine.
HMSInverness(M102) was a Sandown-class minehunter of the Royal Navy. She was decommissioned by the Royal Navy in 2005, and in 2008 became EMLSakala(M314) of the Estonian Navy.
HMS Brocklesby is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the British Royal Navy, her primary purpose is to find and neutralise sea mines using a combination of; Sonar, Mine Clearance Divers and the Seafox remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The class are the largest warships of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) construction, which gives the vessels a low magnetic signature. In addition to her mine countermeasures activities, Brocklesby acts as an offshore patrol vessel, undertaking coastal patrol and fisheries protection duties.
HMS Middleton is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the British Royal Navy. As of 2021, she forms part of 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron operating out of HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
HMS Chiddingfold is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of Britain's Royal Navy. She was launched in October 1983 by her sponsor, Lady Anne Kennon, and formally entered the service of the Royal Navy in October 1984. Chiddingfold is a minehunter, and her purpose is to find and destroy mines, not only in a time of war but also in peacetime. There are about a quarter of a million mines still active from the Second World War alone and they pose a major threat to both military and civilian ships. Chiddingfold is able to enter some types of minefields without magnetic mines detonating because she is made of glass-reinforced plastic, and all fixtures within the ship are made of non-ferrous metals, keeping the ship's magnetic signature to the bare minimum.
EML Admiral Cowan (M313) is a Sandown-class minehunter. Formerly HMS Sandown, lead ship of her class of the Royal Navy, she is now an Estonian Navy ship. Renamed EML Admiral Cowan, she is the flagship of the Estonian Navy and part of the Estonian Navy's mine sweeping flotilla. Admiral Cowan is the lead vessel of the Estonian Navy Mineships Division and also the first of the three modernised Sandown class minehunters received.
Two ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Blyth
EML Ugandi is a Sandown-class minehunter commissioned by the Estonian Navy in 2009. Ugandi is a former British Royal Navy vessel HMS Bridport built by Woolston Yard of Southampton-based shipbuilders Vosper Thornycroft.
The 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron is a front-line squadron of the Royal Navy with responsibility for mine warfare in the Persian Gulf region. The squadron is based in Bahrain and, as of 2023, is equipped with three mine countermeasure vessels and a Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ship.