HrMs Amsterdam

HrMs Amsterdam (A836) is one of two replenishment ships serving with the Royal Netherlands Navy. The Amsterdam entered service in 1995.

HrMs Amsterdam deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Enduring Freedom during 2005/2006 and provided assistance to two American naval vessels after a battle they had fought with pirates on March 18, 2006.

The ships have a helicopter deck and a hangar for several helicopters. The cargo capacity is 10,300 tonnes, including 9,000 tonnes of fuel. Resupply at sea is done by shooting a line from the supply ship to the client ship. When the supply ship is hooked up to the frigate by the line, supplies can be hoisted from one ship to the other, or a fuel line can be run.

The task of a supply ship is primarily resupplying Dutch or Allied fleets at sea. Supply ships are, first and foremost, tankers and can therefore transport diesel oil and aviation fuel.

All kinds of food can also be stored in the ship. One supply ship can service 3 other ships at the same time. The helicopters from the supply ships can also be used for vertical replenishment, in addition to search-and-rescue operations and anti-submarine warfare.

The 2 supply ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy are not identical. HrMs Zuiderkruis was built in Rotterdam by Verolme Scheepswerven and went into service in 1975. The Zuiderkruis is scheduled to be replaced by a Joint Support Ship in approximately 2014.

HrMs Amsterdam is a ship of a more recent date. It was built by the Schelde Group in Flushing, and went into service in 1995.

She is seen here arriving in Leith

Stockholm Class Corvette

The Stockholm class corvette is a corvette class in the Swedish Navy. Built in Karlskrona 1984–1985, it is armed with eight RBS15 anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, one 57mm cannon and several machine guns. In 1999/2000 the two units in the class were upgraded in the Karlskrona shipyard Kockums. The upgrade included new engines, sensors, stealth technology, and navigation systems, the goal being to bring the technology up to the same level as the Visby class.

The Stockholm Class Corvette started as a study for a ship with increased endurance, a project called Ytattack-81(Surface combatant-81), which was built on the torpedo boats of Spica and Spica II class, but with an increased displacement from 230 tons to 350 tons. The engine was to be a CODAG-concept, two diesels and one gas turbine. However, the class looked to become just another desktop project.

In the early 1980s a series of submarine incidents occurred within Swedish territorial waters, the most famous of which was U 137 which ran aground outside Karlskrona 1981. These incidents showed that the Swedish Navy was seriously lacking in its anti-submarine (ASW) capacity. Specifically, it needed new hulls designed to anti-submarine warfare, and it needed them fast. The decision was to use the Ytattack-81 project and modify it for ASW operations, as designing a completely new ship is a time-consuming and costly task. It was given a towed array sonar, ASW torpedoes and the ELMA anti-submarine grenade launcher system. HMS Stockholm was launched 22 August 1984 closely followed by HMS Malmö 23 March 1985, both ships entered service 1 May 1986.

In the middle of the 1990s the ships started to show their age, mainly because of their high mileage and the latest few years explosive development of electronics. The Stockholm class was a successful design and the ships' basic status was good despite a hard life so the Swedish Defence Administration decided to give the ships a second life. HMS Malmö was the first to be modernised in 1999 with HMS Stockholm following suit 2000. The modernisation included new engines, combat control systems, fire control systems, SIGINT and navigational systems. The ships both went through extensive modification of the mast, hull and superstructure to reduce their radar cross-section. Much of the modification was also made with low maintenance in mind to minimise the need for expensive repairs in the future. The guiding principle for the project was to update as much of the systems as possible to the same level as the Visby Corvettes. Both ships are back in operational condition now, attached to the 31'st Corvette Division of the 3rd Naval Warfare Flotilla.

In early 2009 the Swedish government decided that the two ships in the class was to join the EU-lead taskforce outside Somalia, where its would fight piracy.  In May 2009 the ships started their first patrol outside the Somalian coast. On May 26 the HMS Malmö responded to a pirate attack on the Greek ship M/V Antonis. The Corvette fired warning shots with its 57mm canon and arrested seven pirates.

The Stockhom is seen here departing Faslane

Combat Boat 90H - Fast Patrol Boats

Combat Boat 90 (CB90) is a class of fast military assault craft originally developed for the Swedish Navy by Dockstavarvet. Over 225 boats have already been supplied. The CB90H is constructed of aluminum and designed to operate as a fast attack boat, patrol boat and special operations support vessel. Heavy machine guns are mounted in fixed installations, or stabilized and remotely controlled from a monitor in the wheelhouse. The boat can also carry mines or Hellfire missiles, and a gyro-stabilized twin-barrel 12-cm mortar. The boats have a loading capacity of 21 armed soldiers or up to 4.5 tons of cargo. The boat uses two waterjet propulsion units, each powered by a 460 kW diesel engine, developing continuous speeds exceeding 40 knots and high maneuverability. A non-military Patrol Crafts version of the CB-90 can be equipped with twin 550 kW diesels, to cruise at up to 45 knots. Such a high speed interceptor was recently supplied to the Malaysian Customs service. Equipped with two MAN D2842 LE410 main engines, each with a medium duty rating of 810 kW and two Rolls-Royce Kamewa FF-410 with waterjets, the 16 meter boat has a sprint speed of 50 knots and a cruise at 42 kt.

In addition to the many variants in service with the Swedish Navy under the Strb 90 H designation, the CB 90 has been adopted by the navies of several countries, including Norway (as the S90N), Greece, Mexico (as the CB 90 HMN), and Malaysia. Also the German Navy plans to equip the Berlin-class replenishment ships with the CB90.

The CB90 is an exceptionally fast and agile boat. Its light weight, shallow draught, and twin water jets allow it to operate at speeds of up to 40 knots (74 km/h) in shallow coastal waters. The water jets are partially ducted, which, along with underwater control surfaces similar to a submarine's diving planes, allows the CB90 to execute extremely sharp turns at high speed, decelerate from top speed to a full stop in 2.5 boat lengths, and adjust its pitch and roll angle while under way.

924 is seen here at Faslane

926 seen here at Faslane

943 seen at Faslane

Trident Class Submarines

HMS Vigilant (S30) is the third Vanguard class submarine of the Royal Navy. Vigilant carries the Trident ballistic missile, the UK's nuclear deterrent.

Vigilant was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd (now BAE Systems Submarine Solutions), was launched in October 1995, and commissioned in November 1996.

In 2002, protestors from Trident Ploughshares breached security at Faslane Naval Base where the Vanguard submarines are based. Two protestors managed to spraypaint Vigilant with the CND symbol and the word "Vile".

Peter Hennessy reporting for the Today programme on BBC radio 4, reported from the Vigilant on 28 December 2007. The Vigilant was one of four submarines that is the last line of defence for the United Kingdom. He also reported that there is a grey safe in the control room that has an inner safe that only the Commanding officer (Commander Pole) and Executive officer can open. In that safe is a letter from the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the letter contains guidance and orders if the United Kingdom is attacked by nuclear weapons.

Vigilant arrived at Devonport on 11 October 2008 for a major refit.  Vigilant is expected to return to the fleet in 2012 following her GBP 300 million refit.

She is seen here returning to her home port of Faslane.

Archer Class Patrol and Training Vessel

HMS Smiter is an Archer-class patrol and training vessel of the British Royal Navy.

On being accepted into service, she initially served with the Clyde Division of the Royal Naval Reserve until 11 October 1990. She then transferred to the University Royal Naval Unit (URNU) of Glasgow and Strathclyde.  She replaced  HMS Attacker in this role, which had been called into service to the Royal Navy Cyprus Squadron during the Gulf War. Universities. 

The Glasgow University Royal Naval Unit is one of 14 URNUs supporting the countries' leading Universities in England, Wales and Scotland. The organisation's Mission is to "educate a wide spectrum of high calibre undergraduates who show potential as society's future leaders and opinion formers in order to better inform them of the need for and role of the Royal Navy, and to develop awareness of career opportunities in the Service."

Students from the URNU get the chance to deploy on sea weekends or sea days aboard the ship, where they learn how to handle and navigate the vessel under the instruction of the permanent RN crew of five. The ship also goes on twice yearly deployments, at Easter and in the summer. University Students in the Greater Glasgow area also have the option of joining either the Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities Officer Training Corps or the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde Air Squadron. The ship is based at HMS Neptune, HMNB Clyde during the week.

She is seen here assisiting with the Launch of HMS Daring

HMS Endurance

HMS Endurance is the Royal Navy's Antarctic ice patrol ship. She is a class 1A1 icebreaker, with pennant number A171.

HMS Endurance was built over a period in Norway in 1990 by Ulstein Hatlo for Rieber Shipping as MV Polar Circle. The Navy chartered her for eight months as HMS Polar Circle from 21 November 1991. She was bought outright and renamed HMS Endurance on 9 October 1992.

Endurance provides a sovereign presence in polar waters, performs hydrographic surveys and supports the British Antarctic Survey in Antarctica. Her usual deployment has seen her in the South Atlantic and returning to the UK through tropical waters each year. More recently a longer, 18-month deployment was designed to maximise her time available for BAS usage.

In 1997, she made the first visit to Buenos Aires after the Falklands War and returned in 2002.

In 2005, Endurance was chosen to carry HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at the International Fleet Review as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations.

During survey work in Antarctica in January 2006, the ship's engineering staff discovered her rudder was loose on the stock. Her work period was cut short and she returned to Mare Harbour in the Falkland IslandsDet Norske Veritas, the ship's assurance certification company instructed that the ship should dock at the nearest available port - the nearest big enough being Puerto Belgrano, Argentina's largest naval base, where Endurance docked in mid-March 2006. Without hotel services on board, the ship's company moved to shore-side accommodation in the city of Bahía Blanca, some twenty kilometres west of Puerto Belgrano. The rudder was removed for repairs and once on the floor of the drydock, a dockers' strike followed.  The ship remained there for nearly three weeks. Picket lines formed at the gates of the naval base, preventing Endurance's crew from relieving the stranded duty watch on board. When the strike broke, the rudder was replaced and welded into position and the ship left Puerto Belgrano in early April 2006. She returned to Portsmouth via Lisbon and to drydock again for further engineering work on the rudder and stock. for further inspections. 

In July 2007 the United Kingdom offered HMS Endurance to supply Argentine Antarctic bases after their ARA Almirante Irizar icebreaker suffered extensive damage in a fire.

In December 2008, while on an 18-month deployment, Endurance suffered extensive lower deck flooding resulting in the near loss of the ship.A serious engine room flood left her without power or propulsion, and she was towed to Punta Arenas by a Chilean tug. After an extensive survey was completed, the estimates to refit the ship are put at around £25million.  On 8 April 2009 Endurance arrived off Portsmouth, on the semi-submersible transporter ship MV Target.

The Royal Navy inquiry found that the flood happened when a valve opened because air lines (which had been extremely poorly installed making reconnection ambiguous and which fell below generally accepted standards for pipe intallation) had been incorrectly reconnected during unnecessary onboard maintenance. Due to manpower constraints the ship did not have a System Maintainer. Clarity of engineering command had been lost and no-one was clearly in charge of risk-management. It was fortunate that after the propulsion stopped due to the flooding, Endurance drifted over an area shallow enough for anchors to hold and stabilise her, otherwise Endurance would probably have been lost by flooding or running ashore. The ship’s company responded well to control damage in challenging conditions.   

In 2009, National Geographic Channel ran a four-episode documentary series on HMS Endurance. Five ran the same series the following year, with the final episode showing what happened the day ship almost sank.

As of May 2010 Endurance remains in Portsmouth with repair work yet to start, prompting press speculation she will be scrapped as a result of the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review.

 

According to a Freedom Of Information Request submitted in June 2010 regarding the status of Endurance, the Ministry Of Defence currently do not know what will happen to her but a decision will be made in the first part of 2011 at the latest.

She is seen here in Leith with the BASV James Clark Ross berhted on her inside.

This is her Lynx helicopter showing off

HMS Dauntless Launch

HMS Dauntless was launched on 23 January 2007 at 3.25 pm by Lady Burnell-Nugent, wife of Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent, the then-Commander-in-Chief Fleet. Dauntless is the adopted warship of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Because her modules were put together outside at BAE Govan, it was possible to complete more of her structure than her sister ship, Daring, which was launched from the covered facility at Scotstoun the previous year.

She is seen here entering the Clyde on the 23rd January 2007.

HMS Daring Launch

HMS Daring is the lead ship of the Type 45 or 'D' Class of air defence destroyer in 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 interest. The price tag of approximately £6.6 billion for the six ships represents a significant investment into the future needs of the Royal Navy.

She is seen here on launch day - 1st February 2006