Royal Navy welcomes it's 'greenest warship since the age of sail' HMS Tamar into Portsmouth
THE Royal Navy has welcomed a new warship to Portsmouth which has been touted by the Senior Service as the ‘most environmentally-friendly since the age of sail’.
HMS Tamar is the fourth of five new offshore patrol vessels (OPV) to have sailed into her home city after being pieced together in a shipyard in Glasgow.
Her arrival comes just four months after the first members of the ship’s company stepped on board the 2,000-tonne warship.
The hi-tech patrol vessel arrived into Portsmouth earlier than anticipated, on Sunday evening, and will now be put through her paces during a series of trials around the UK coast.
In the meantime, her 40-strong crew stands ready to assist the government in tackling the coronavirus epidemic, if called upon.
Tamar’s skipper, Lieutenant Commander Mike Hutchinson, said the ship’s arrival was a ‘great achievement’ for the navy and defence contractors from BAE Systems.
He added: ‘While many of our colleagues across the armed forces are already supporting the NHS during the immediate Covid-19 response, our current focus is on bringing Tamar to readiness so that the Royal Navy’s mission to protect our long-term national interests at home and overseas continues.’
The ship is the first of her class to have a urea filter installed which will reduce damaging diesel exhaust emissions by about 90 per cent.
Lt Cdr Hutchinson oversaw the evolution of Tamar, taking just four weeks from moving the ship’s staff on board to sailing from Glasgow - a pace unseen in peacetime.
It is hoped a formal commissioning ceremony, welcoming the ship into naval service, will take place later in the year.
HMS Tamar’s other sisters are already taking on vital maritime security work, with HMS Forth patrolling the Falkland Islands and HMS Medway in the Caribbean.
She and her sisters are larger, faster and able to stay at sea for longer than many comparable vessels. She carries a 30mm main cannon, can conduct helicopter operations and can embark up to 50 personnel, in addition to about 40 crew.
Five refined River-class OPVs were ordered in 2014 to supplement those already in the fleet. The final vessel, HMS Spey, is in fitting-out on the Clyde and will also be based in Portsmouth.