Built as an offshore patrol vessel under yard No 805006 by BAe Systems, Govan, Scotland for the Royal Navy.
August 2014 ordered.
10 October 2014 (First steel cut)
20 August 2016 launched as HMS FORTH (P222).
9 March 2017 christened, sponsored by Rachel Johnstone Burt.
Displacement 2,000 ton, 2,453 grt, 735 nrt, 2,085 dwt, dim. 90.50 x 13.50 x 7.70m, draught 3.80m.
Powered by two MAN B&W diesel engines, power?, twin screws, speed: 24 kn (44 km/h)
Range:5,500 nmi (10,200 km)
Endurance: 35 days.
Armament: 1 × 30 mm cannon, 4 × General purpose machine guns, and 2 × Miniguns
Aircraft carried: Merlin capable flight deck.
Crew 70 and accommodation for 50 Royal Marines.
Boats & landing craft carried: Two rigid inflatable boats.
13 April 2018 commissioned. IMO No 9752058.
HMS FORTH is a Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel in active service with the Royal Navy. Named after the River FORTH, she is the first Batch 2 River-class vessel to be built. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 13 April 2018, following a commissioning ceremony at her home port HMNB Portsmouth. As of January 2020, she replaced HMS CLYDE as the Falklands Patrol ship.
Construction
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 (more specifically, the larger Amazonas-class corvette derivative) at a fixed price of £348 million, including spares and support. In August 2014, BAE Systems signed a contract to build the ships on the River Clyde in Scotland. The ships, which were designated Batch 2 of the River-class, were to be globally-deployable and capable of carrying out constabulary tasks, such as counter-terrorism, counter-piracy, and anti-smuggling. As the first ship of the new batch, FORTH included some 29 modifications and enhancements over the baseline Amazonas design.
Steel was first cut for FORTH on 10 October 2014 at BAE Systems' Govan shipyard in Glasgow.[2] She was launched in September 2016, being floated off a semi-submersible barge in the Clyde rather than receiving a traditional dynamic launch.[5] After launch, she was moved down the Clyde for fitting out at BAE Systems' Scotstoun shipyard. She was christened at a ceremony at Scotstoun on 9 March 2017. In late March 2017, it was announced that the crew of Batch 1 vessel HMS TYNE would be transferred to FORTH to bring her into service.
On 31 August 2017, FORTH sailed for contractor sea trials. It was reported in October 2017 that FORTH had been earmarked to replace HMS CLYDE as the Falkland Islands guardship.
It was announced on 25 January 2018 that FORTH had been accepted by the Ministry of Defence from BAE Systems and would shortly sail to HM Naval Base Portsmouth for commissioning. She arrived in Portsmouth for the first time on 26 February 2018
Commissioning and early faults
FORTH was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 13 April 2018 following a ceremony at HMNB Portsmouth.
Soon after her commissioning, some faults were identified with her electrical system and sheared bolts were also discovered with heads that had been glued back on. In June 2018, it was announced that FORTH would be entering the dry dock for major rectification work which was likely to take more than three months. The Royal Navy reactivated HMS TYNE to cover planned patrols by FORTH with BAE Systems covering the additional costs. In October, Anderson Smith, BAE Systems Commercial Director – Naval Ships, admitted that "minor defects" had been found but announced that they had since been fixed.
In June 2019, FORTH underwent Operational Sea Training in British waters in preparation for her first operational deployment. She later sailed from Liverpool to escort a Russian Navy patrol ship that was transiting through the UK's area of interest. She then made her inaugural fishery protection patrol and her first visit to an overseas port, which was to Gibraltar before, once again, escorting the same Russian ship through the English Channel.
Falkland Islands
On 13 January 2020, FORTH arrived at the East Cove Military Port in the Falkland Islands on her first operational deployment, taking over from her older sister ship Clyde as the permanently-stationed guardship. Prior to her arrival, she exercised with Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4 interceptors to trial how the platforms could operate together. As part of her deployment, FORTH was on standby to assist the island's authorities in anything from ceremonial events to emergencies. Her support also extended to nearby South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The arrival of FORTH stoked the ongoing Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute between the UK and Argentina with Argentina's Secretary of the Malvinas, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands, Andres Dachary, condemning the deployment as a violation of the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone.
2021 In service.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_FORTH_(P222) https://www.clydeships.co.uk
South Georgia & Sandwich Islands 2020 70p and £1.25 sg?, scott?