In a ceremony held at Portsmouth Naval Base, VT (Vosper Thornycroft) Shipbuilding handed over HMS Severn, the second of three River Class offshore patrol vessels for the Royal Navy.
HMS Severn will follow the first-of-class HMS Tyne into the Fishery Protection
Squadron later this year after a period of sea trials and crew training. The
80m vessel is one of three that will replace the current five Island Class ships,
which carry out fishery protection duties around the UK Coast. The final ship
in the Class, HMS Mersey, will be handed over by VT later this year.
The Ministry of Defence has obtained the ships on a long-term charter agreement
that will see them initially leased from VT for a period of five years. At the
end of that time, the lease can be extended, the ships can be purchased outright
or handed back to VT.