Island-class patrol vessel

The Island-class patrol vessel was first designed and built for the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. As a result of the Royal Navy's experiences in the Cod Wars with Iceland, FPV Jura (loaned to the Navy as HMS Jura) and FPV Westra were put in fishery protection patrols, the Navy built a further seven. These ships were designed and built by Hall Russell of Aberdeen, Scotland.

This article is about a Royal Navy patrol vessel class. For the U.S. Coast Guard patrol vessel class, see Island-class patrol boat.

BNS Sangu operating in the Bay of Bengal, in 2011
Class overview
BuildersHall, Russell & Company
Operators
Succeeded byCastle class
In commission1976–Present
Completed7 (excluding FPV JURA and FPV WESTRA)
Active5 (Bangladesh Navy)
General characteristics
TypeOffshore patrol vessel
Displacement
  • 1,000 tons (standard)
  • 1,280 tons (full load)
Length195 ft (59 m) (overall)
Beam36 ft (11 m)
Draft14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion1 shaft, 2 Ruston-Paxman diesel, 4,380 hp (3,270 kW) variable-pitch propeller
Speed16 knots (30 km/h)
Range11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 11 knots (20 km/h)
Complement35
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Surface Search and navigation:Kelvin Hughes Type 1006 radar
  • Simrad RU sidescan sonar
Armament1 × Bofors 40 mm gun Mark III, replaced by 1 × 30mm gun in some ships

Fishery protection cruisers

FPV Jura and FPV Westra were built by Hall, Russell & Company of Aberdeen in 1973 and 1975 respectively. Jura was loaned to the Royal Navy between 1975 and 1977 for evaluation.[1]

Royal Navy offshore fishery protection ships

The success of Jura encouraged the Royal Navy to build a further seven ships to the same design; these ships formed the bulk of the Fishery Protection Squadron, whose mission was to patrol the Atlantic fishing grounds, and ensure the security of the British oil and gas fields in the North Sea. However, since the mid-1990s, the class has been gradually decommissioned; Jersey was sold to the Bangladesh Navy in 1994, to be followed by Shetland, Alderney, Anglesey, Guernsey and Lindisfarne, with Orkney going to Trinidad and Tobago. The Island class was replaced in the Fishery Protection Squadron by the three ships of the River class.

Ships in class
Name Pennant number Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Status
Jura class OPVs (2)
FPV Jura P296 (HMS Jura) Hall, Russell & Company 1973 It was the design basis for the 7 Island class OPVs. Jura was sold in 1988 to Marrs of Hull and renamed Criscilla, and then sold to Marr Vessel Management Ltd renamed again as N'Madi. According to one source the ship sold to Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauretania in 1992. She was broken up in Portugal in November 2001.[2]
FPV Westra Hall, Russell & Company 1974 1975 Sister ship of FPV Jura. Sold to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and renamed MY Steve Irwin.
Island-class OPVs (7)
HMS Anglesey P277 Hall, Russell & Company Sold to the Bangladesh Navy and renamed BNS Gomati.
HMS Alderney P278 Hall, Russell & Company Sold to the Bangladesh Navy and renamed BNS Karotoa.
HMS Jersey P295 Hall, Russell & Company Sold to the Bangladesh Navy and renamed BNS Shaheed Ruhul Amin.
HMS Guernsey P297 Hall, Russell & Company Sold to the Bangladesh Navy and renamed BNS Sangu.
HMS Shetland P298 Hall, Russell & Company Sold to the Bangladesh Navy and renamed BNS Kapotaksha.
HMS Orkney P299 Hall, Russell & Company Sold to Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard and renamed TTS Nelson.
HMS Lindisfarne P300 Hall, Russell & Company Sold to the Bangladesh Navy and renamed BNS Turag.

Disposal
BNS Sangu in the Bay of Bengal

Presently, five Island-class patrol vessels are in active service with the Bangladesh Navy. They are Karotoa (ex-Alderney), Kapatakhaya (ex-Shetland), Turag (ex-Lindisfarne), Gomati (ex-Anglesey) and Sangu (ex-Guernsey). Another ex-Royal Navy Island-class vessel, Jersey, was used as the training ship, Shaheed Ruhul Amin. The final ship of the class, ex-Royal Navy vessel Orkney is in service with the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard and named TTS Nelson.

The Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency Westra was sold to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in 2006 and renamed MY Steve Irwin. Jura was sold in 1988 and renamed Criscilla, and then N'Madi. She was broken up in Portugal in November 2001.[3]

References

Footnotes
  1. "Scottish Fishery Protection Cruisers". Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  2. Aberdeen City Council. "Aberdeen Ships". aberdeenships.com. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  3. "7314840". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 21 June 2009.

Bibliography
  • Richardson, Ian (February 2022). "Island Class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV)". Marine News Supplement: Warships. 76 (2): S118–S124. ISSN 0966-6958.


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