Hms Shoreham (M112) is the twelfth and final ship of the Sandown Class Single Role Minehunter.
The Sandown Class is a class of minehunter originally built for the British Royal Navy (RN). Sandown Class vessels also serve with the Royal Saudi Navy and the Estonian Navy (Merevägi). The first vessel commissioned into RN service on June 9, 1989 and all the British ships are named after coastal towns and cities.
These small (53 m) fibreglass vessels are single role mine hunters (SRMH) rather than minesweepers. 12 ships were built for the RN and 3 ships were exported to Saudi Arabia. Three RN vessels were decommissioned following the Strategic Defence Review in 2003; HMS Sandown M101 (January 2005), Inverness M102 (April 2005) and Bridport M105 (July 2004). A further ship, HMS Cromer M103 was decommissioned and transferred to a training role at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England in 2001 as Hindostan.
The three decommissioned vessels were sold to Estonia in September 2006. They will be re-equipped with TCS (Tactical Control System) and the Atlas Elektronik Seafox ROV for mine disposal. The sonar system will be also be updated. The first ship, delivered in 2007, has been named the Admiral Cowan M313 (ex HMS Sandown), the second, delivered in 2008, has been named Sakala M314 (ex HMS Inverness) and the last has been named Ugandi M315 (ex HMS Bridport) in March 2009.
HMS Shoreham is seen here departing Leith.
