CLYDE HMS (P257)

[D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen]

Built in 2005-'07 by VT Shipbuilding, Portsmouth, for the Royal Navy.
OPV, Displacement: 1,854 tonnes full load, Length Overall: 81.5m (265 feet) Length waterline: 73.6m, Beam: 13.6m (46 feet) Draught - 3.8m (11.5 feet)
Speed: 19 knots full load (21kts sprint)
Endurance: 21-day endurance, Range: 5,500 nm at 12 knots
Engineering: Main Engines 2 X 12V RK270 Rushton Marine Diesels Rated at 4125kw at 1000 RPM;
Bow Thruster: 280 kw; Stern Thruster: 185 kw; 3 Main Generators: 250 kw; 1 Emergency Generator: 170 kw.
Guns: 1 x 30mm, 4 x GMPG
Sensors: Terma Scanter 4100 air and surface surveillance radar
Complement: 36 (6 officers, 9 SR, 21 JR), accommodation for 58
Aviation: Flight Deck Arrangements sufficient size to take for a Lynx, Sea King and Merlin Helicopters.
Notes:
On 25 February 2005 the Ministry of Defence awarded a ₤30 million contract to VT Group for a new Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV). The new OPV, HMS Clyde, will patrol waters round the Falkland Islands and their dependencies, and is being acquired under a charter and logistic support contract.

The new ship will replace the two Castle class ships HMS Leeds Castle and HMS Dumbarton Castle which are primarily currently employed in the Falkland Island Patrol Vessel role. Unlike the Castle class ships, which have to return to the UK every three years for major repairs, it's hoped that the more modern and reliable design of HMS Clyde means that she will be able to remain in the South Atlantic continuously from 2007 until 2012, and will save £2 million in support costs over a seven year period. Her crew members will of course be regularly rotated!
(Tristan da Cunha 2012 70 p. MS, StG.?) Internet

[aukepalmhof]

On 21 September 2017, CLYDE celebrated ten years in the South Atlantic with her only time off station being the maintenance periods in South Africa.

In November 2017, CLYDE was ordered to return from a patrol of South Georgia to assist in the search for the missing Argentinian submarine ARA SAN JUAN.

Future
A parliamentary briefing paper released in October 2016 stated that Clyde would leave service in 2017;[15] however on 24 April 2017, in a written answer to a question raised by Sir Nicholas Soames, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Defence Harriet Baldwin stated CLYDEwould be decommissioned in 2019.CLYDE was due to be replaced by the Batch 2 ship HMS FORTH in 2018 however later than originally planned, FORTH relieved CLYDE in late 2019. Clyde made her entry into Portsmouth after 12 years away on 20 December 2019 and was decommissioned on the same day.

Clyde was expected to be taken over by Brazil once the Royal Navy lease expired. However, this was denied by the Brazilian Navy, with BAE Systems taking back possession of the ship at the end of the Royal Navy's lease.

Transfer to Bahrain
On 7 August 2020, it was announced in a ceremony held at the HMNB Portsmouth Naval Base in the UK, that CLYDE had been transferred to the Royal Bahrain Naval Force, with the ship renamed as RBNS AL-ZUBARA.

The ceremony was held in the presence of the Bahraini Ambassador to the UK and representatives of BAE Systems.

2021 Same name and owners, in service.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Clyde_(P257)
SOUTH GEORGE & SANDWICH ISLAND 2020 80p