Royal Navy: Advanced new ship HMS Venturer sails for first time in "historic moment" ahead of Portsmouth move

HMS Venturer left her dry dock on Saturday morning and was towed around the Firth of Forth in Scotland in her maiden voyage. The Type 31 frigate, due to be based in Portsmouth, will be one of the new centrepieces of a modern Royal Navy fleet.

Senior Naval Officer, Commander Chris Cozens, said: “Getting Venturer’s feet wet is not just a show piece, it is the culmination of the structural stage of build before the rest of the fit out and commissioning completes. It has been impressive to see the pride and teamwork in the industrial staff, MOD and Royal Navy.”

Cdr Cozens said HMS Venturer will be the best next generation frigate it can be, and will be tasked with security missions and humanitarian disaster relief operations across the globe. She will also be tasked with search and rescue operations, and anti-drug smuggling activities.

Skilled shipwrights carefully inched the 138.7m long vessel on to a gigantic low-loader, before being placed on to a partly-submersible barge. That operation began on Monday, when the barge supporting the warship left Rosyth and sailed to waters deep.

The waters of the Forth lapped around the hull of HMS Venturer as she was lifted off the barge. She was then towed up the estuary on an 11-mile journey, and back up the river. Once she returned to Rosyth, the ship was carefully manoeuvred into an inner base in the dockyard. Engineers completed will complete the fitting out process, and begin implementing her many weapons systems and sensors ahead of her first training drills.

Lieutenant Dai Guthrie, HMS Venturer’s Deputy Marine Engineer Officer, was delighted to be involved in such a historic moment. “The operation has been an embodiment of the team ethos that has been ingrained in the build process thus far and a symbol of the progress that’s being made to bring a frigate at the cutting edge of naval technology into service,” he added.

Personnel were on board the 139-metre warship carrying out constant inspections. Leading Writer Andy Fleming said: “My grandfather used to work at Harland and Wolff, so being involved with Venturer’s first move into the Forth is a proud moment for me.”

The Inspiration-class warship emerged from the Babcock International assembly hall last month in her first public viewing. Construction began in September 2021 after her first steel was cut. HMS Venturer will soon sail to Portsmouth and be joined by four sister ships - HMS Active, Formidable, Bulldog and Campbelltown.

Sir Nick Hine, chief executive of Babcock’s marine sector, said: “In a complex and uncertain world, our ability to design, build and support advanced warships in the UK is more important than ever. This latest milestone exhibits the excellent progress being made across our multi-build programme, which will see us deliver five complex warships for the Royal Navy within a decade. This is engineering at its best, delivered, together with our partners, with pride, purpose and precision. HMS Venturer is just the beginning.”