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RFA Stirling Castle

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Not to be confused with HMS Stirling Castle.

RFA Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle alongside at Oslo with its previous name Island Crown in 2013
History
NameIsland Crown
OwnerIsland Offshore
Port of registry
BuilderVard Brăila, Romania[1]
Yard number784
LaunchedMarch 2013[1]
FateSold to UK Ministry of Defence, 14 February 2023
United Kingdom
NameStirling Castle
NamesakeStirling Castle in Scotland
Acquired14 February 2023
In service11 April 2024
HomeportHMNB Clyde[2]
Identification
StatusIn active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeVARD UT 776 CD[5]
TypeMine Countermeasures Maritime Autonomous Systems (MCM MAS)
Tonnage
Displacement6,000 tonnes[1]
Length96.8 m (317 ft 7 in)[1]
Beam20.0 m (65 ft 7 in)[1]
Draught6.0 m (19 ft 8 in)[1]
Propulsion
  • 4 × Bergen Engines C25:33L-6 diesel engines (4 × 2,000 kW, 2,700 hp)[1]
  • 2 × Kongsberg azimuth thrusters (2 × 3,500 kW, 4,700 hp)
  • 3 × Kongsberg bow thrusters (3 × 1,882 kW, 2,524 hp)[1]
Complement100[7]
Aviation facilitiesHelipad

RFA Stirling Castle is a ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary operated by the Ministry of Defence. Acquired in 2023, the ship entered drydock at HMNB Devonport for modification into a trials platform for autonomous minehunting systems that are to operate from a larger mother ship. The ship was formerly named MV Island Crown, and used as an offshore supply vessel operated by Island Offshore.[8] The vessel was sold to the Ministry of Defence in January 2023 for £40 million.[8]

Stirling Castle is one of two new commercial vessels acquired for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 2023, the other being RFA Proteus, a multi-role ocean surveillance ship to protect seabed infrastructure and communications.[9] Up to three additional ships performing the role of mine countermeasures command and support vessel are also planned for acquisition. These will either be converted former commercial vessels, similar to RFA Stirling Castle, or new purpose-built ships, as reportedly preferred by the navy.[10][11] These vessels will fill a gap left as a result of the retirement of the Royal Navy's Sandown-class minehunters, all of which are scheduled to leave service by 2025.[12]

History

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MV Island Crown

[edit]

The ship operated as the offshore support vessel MV Island Crown for Island Offshore from March 2013 until July 2017 under the flag of the Bahamas and registered in Nassau. From July 2017 until March 2023 it sailed under the flag of Norway, registered in Ålesund.[6] Designed by Rolls-Royce[7][13] and built by Vard Brăila, Romania[5] the primary capabilities of the Island Crown were to support subsea and offshore oil, gas, and renewable energy operations.

Projects for which the Island Crown was deployed includes supporting and accommodating workers on the construction of the East Anglia Array offshore wind farm near the United Kingdom.[14]

RFA Stirling Castle

[edit]

Owing to the UK's government's growing concern about protecting subsea infrastructure, and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Island Crown was purchased by the UK's Ministry of Defence in February 2023 to be converted into a platform for mine countermeasure operations, to be operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and have pennant number M01.[3][2] Initial conversion for naval service was conducted at HMNB Devonport in Plymouth, UK.[8] The primary focus of the Stirling Castle is as a trials platform to act as an offshore forward operating base, deploying Mine Countermeasures Maritime Autonomous Systems (MCM MAS), and drones to protect offshore subsea infrastructure.[15] It will also be used as a platform for training RFA personnel on MCM MAS operations.[15] For the employment of unmanned systems, the ship incorporates a crane with a safe working load of 10 tonnes at a 34m radius and 5 tonnes at a 40m radius.[16] The ship's conversion was said to have been completed in May 2023 and she began sea trials prior to assuming her new role.[17]

In July 2023, the ship conducted its first trials with three of the Navy's autonomous vessels: Royal Navy motor boats Apollo, Hydra and Hazard.[18] In December it was reported that the ship has been engaged in few activities since those initial trials. Her formal naming ceremony was delayed until Spring 2024 with reports suggesting that she might have to undergo docking in order to correct certain defects.[19] However, from January to March 2024 Stirling Castle was reported to have undertaken additional operational sea training in preparation for work with the Mine and Threat Exploitation Group at the Clyde naval base.[20][21] In April 2024, in a ceremony attended by Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, the ship formally entered service with the RFA.[22] [23]

In August 2024 it was revealed that the ship's crane was damaged and therefore was unable to launch or recover boats. This rendered it ineffective in its main role.[24]

While the crane defect was reported to have been repaired by October, a serious manpower shortage in the RFA meant that the ship remained effectively inactive.[25] She was reportedly temporarily replaced in the MCM command and support role by the Marine Services vessel Northern River.[26]

See also

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References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to IMO 9630535.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "ISLAND CROWN". DNV Vessel Register. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Why has the Royal Navy decommissioned 6 ships in a year?". Navy Lookout. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b @NavyLookout (23 April 2023). "Formal renaming and registration of @RFAStrlngCastle has been completed. She will receive the pennant number M01 but remain painted blue & white as a trials platform" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 April 2023 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "ISLAND CROWN (9630535)". Equasis. Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Island Crown". Vard Group AS. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Island Crown". balticshipping. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  7. ^ a b "PSV becomes subsea and accommodation vessel". rivieramm.com. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "New autonomous £40m mine-hunting mothership arrives at HMNB Devonport". Forces.net. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  9. ^ "First images of new Multi Role Ocean Support ship (MROS) renamed RFA Proteus". Navy Lookout. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  10. ^ "The Royal Navy wants three new-build mine hunting motherships". Navy Lookout. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Up close with RFA Stirling Castle – first of the navy's new motherships". Navy Lookout. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Why has the Royal Navy decommissioned 6 ships in a year?". Navy Lookout. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Rolls-Royce congratulates Island Offshore on the delivery of the offshore vessel Island Crown". Navy Lookout. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Island Crown to support construction at East Anglia ONE". islandoffshore.com. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  15. ^ a b "New UK mine-hunting vessel gets her official name". Forces.net. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  16. ^ "Up close with RFA Stirling Castle – first of the navy's new motherships". Navy Lookout. 4 July 2023.
  17. ^ "UK Royal Navy's Future MCM Mothership "Stirling Castle" Begins Sea Trials". Naval News. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Royal Navy MCM Mothership Trains With Autonomous Vessels For The First Time". Naval News. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  19. ^ "The Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 2023". Navy Lookout. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  20. ^ @NavyLookout (2 March 2024). "@NavyLookout. @RFAStrlngCastle heading back to Faslane this morning following a short period with @FOST in Devonport" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 March 2024 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ @NavyLookout (28 January 2024). "@NavyLookout. @RFAStrlngCastle has completed FOST and arrived in Faslane this morning for the first time. Will soon begin work in support of the Mine and Threat Exploitation Group (MTXG)" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 January 2024 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ "The Duke of Edinburgh attends the Commissioning Ceremony of Stirling Castle". The Royal Family. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  23. ^ @NavyLookout (11 April 2024). "@NavyLookout.@RFAStrlngCastle formally welcomed into RFA service at service of dedication held in Leith today in the presence of HRH Prince Edward" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 April 2024 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "Setbacks in the Royal Navy's effort to get newly acquired auxiliary ships into service | Navy Lookout". www.navylookout.com. 27 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  25. ^ @NavyLookout (12 October 2024). "@NavyLookout. @RFAStrlngCastle crane defect rectified - tested while alongside in Portland this week (with water-filled load test weight bags)" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 October 2024 – via Twitter.
  26. ^ "RFA Fort Victoria to be placed in long-term lay up". Navy Lookout. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.


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