HMS Tamar (P233)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Tamar.

Tamar during a visit to London in September 2020
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Tamar
Ordered	8 December 2016
Builder	BAE Systems Naval Ships
Laid down	8 December 2016 (1st steel cut)
Launched	10 October 2018
Sponsored by	Brigitte Peach
Christened	21 March 2019
Commissioned	17 December 2020
Homeport	HMNB Portsmouth[1] (forward deployed to the Indo-Pacific region, with primary logistics hub at the British Defence Singapore Support Unit in Singapore)[2]
Identification	Pennant number: P233
Status	In active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Batch 2 River-class patrol vessel
Displacement	2,000 t (2,000 long tons)
Length	90.5 m (296 ft 11 in)[3]
Beam	13 m (42 ft 8 in)
Draught	3.8 m (12 ft 6 in)
Speed	25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range	5,500 nmi (10,200 km; 6,300 mi)
Endurance	35 days
Boats & landing craft carried	2 × PAC24 Mk4 Sea Boats; Unmanned underwater vehicles may be embarked for mine countermeasures
Troops	up to 50
Crew	34-50[4][5][6][7]
Sensors and processing systems	Kelvin Hughes Ltd SharpEye navigation radar[8] Terma Scanter 4100 2D radar[9] BAE CMS-1[10] Shared Infrastructure operating system
Armament	1 × 30 mm DS30B gun 2 × general purpose machine guns[11] 2 × miniguns (being retired as of 2023 and replaced by Browning .50 caliber heavy machine guns)[12]
Aircraft carried	Merlin capable flight deck; small UAVs may be embarked[13]
Notes	Fit with 16-tonne crane

HMS Tamar is a Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel of the Royal Navy. Named after the River Tamar in England, she is the fourth Batch 2 River-class vessel to be built^[14] and is forward deployed long-term to the Indo-Pacific region with her sister ship HMS Spey.

Construction

HMS Tamar passing Canary Wharf, London September 2020

On 6 November 2013 it was announced that the Royal Navy had signed an Agreement in Principle to build three new offshore patrol vessels, based on the River-class design, at a fixed price of £348 million including spares and support. In August 2014, BAE Systems signed the contract to build the ships on the Clyde. The Ministry of Defence stated that the Batch 2 ships are capable of being used for constabulary duties such as "counter-terrorism, counter-piracy and anti-smuggling operations". According to BAE Systems, the vessels are designed to deploy globally, conducting anti-piracy, counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling tasks currently conducted by frigates and destroyers. A £287m order, for two further ships, including Tamar, and support for all five Batch 2 ships, was announced on 8 December 2016.^[15]

Tamar includes some 29 modifications and enhancements over the Amazonas-class corvette built by BAE Systems for the Brazilian Navy.^[16]

Tamar was lowered into the water on 10 October 2018.^[17] The vessel began operational sea trials in late 2019.^[18][19] She was commissioned into service on 17 December 2020.

Operational history

In April 2021, Tamar became the first Royal Navy warship to be painted in dazzle camouflage since World War II, prior to Tamar's planned deployment with sister ship HMS Spey to the Asia-Pacific region.^[20] On 6 May, Tamar was deployed to Jersey alongside Severn.^[21] This was part of a chain of events sparked by a new fishing licence scheme, introduced by the Jersey authorities post Brexit and is alleged by the French to be in contravention of an agreement between the UK and the EU nations and without consultation with the French authorities.^[22] In June, Tamar, along with Northumberland and Tyne, was deployed off the Cornish coast to provide security for the 2021 G7 summit.^[23] On 7 September, Tamar and sister Spey departed Portsmouth to be forward deployed to the Indo-Pacific region for a minimum of five years.^[24]

In January 2022, Tamar conducted ECC operations off the East Coast of China.

In February/March 2023, Tamar operated in waters of the British Indian Ocean Territory conducting fisheries protection and other missions.^[25] Later in March, Tamar joined the French Navy's helicopter assault ship Dixmude and frigate La Fayette for exercises off Sri Lanka.^[26]

In September 2023, HMS Tamar was operating in Australian waters and in the South Pacific conducting seabed warfare exercises. For these exercises, Tamar embarked divers and autonomous underwater vehicles to conduct mine countermeasures operations and monitor critical infrastructure. The exercises highlighted the ‘plug and play’ modular design of the vessels dependent on their specific mission.^[27]

In early 2024, Tamar was deployed to the Pitcairn Islands for sovereignty protection and other duties.^[28][29]

HMS Tamar went to the aid of HMNZS Manawanui when she ran aground off the south coast of Upolu island, Samoa, on October 5 2024.^[30][31] Tamar travelled 650 miles at full speed, taking 23 hours to reach the area, on her arrival HMNZS Manawanui had sunk and HMS Tamar worked to protect the wreck site and recover material.^[32] Tamar was subsequently able to recover the navigation record book of HMNZS Manawanui.^[33]

References

1. "River class". Royal Navy. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
2. Graham, Euan (19 October 2021). "Reflections on the Royal Navy's Indo-Pacific engagement". International Institute for Strategic Studies. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
3. "Work begins on third Royal Navy Patrol Vessel". GOV.UK. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
4. "Up close with the Royal Navy's new OPVs – HMS Medway". Navy Lookout. 28 June 2019.
5. "River Class | Royal Navy".
6. "River-Class Offshore Patrol Vessels, UK".
7. "Introducing the Royal Navy's new Offshore Patrol Vessels".
8. "Britain orders Kelvin Hughes radar system". United Press International. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
9. "Terma's SCANTER 4100 radar system has been selected and ordered by BAE Systems for integration on board Royal Navy's OPVs" (Press release). Terma A/S. 17 December 2014. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
10. "Combat Management Systems". BAE Systems. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
11. "River-Class Batch 2 OPV 'HMS Trent' Commissioned With Royal Navy". Naval News. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
12. "In focus: the Fleet Solid Support ship design". Navy Lookout. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
13. "Small Drones make big impact on HMS Tamar". Royal Navy. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
14. "HMS Tamar Raises Her Flag on Her Own River". Royal Navy. River Tamar. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
15. de Larrinaga, Nicholas (9 December 2016). "UK orders two more River-class OPVs". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly.
16. "Patrol Craft: Written question - 210211 - UK Parliament". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
17. "HMS Tamar is launched as HMS Medway gears up for maiden voyage". Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
18. "First RN personnel joins HMS Tamar". royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
19. "HMS Tamar welcomes first crew ahead of 2020 delivery". Naval News. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
20. Drummond, Michael (27 April 2021). "Warship treated to Second World War paint job used to 'dazzle' submarines". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
21. "UK Royal Navy ships patrolling Jersey amid fishing row with France". BBC News. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
22. Boffey, Daniel (6 May 2021). "France threatens to cut off power to Jersey in post-Brexit fishing row". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
23. "Thousands of police, Navy frigate and helicopters deployed to guard world leaders at G7 summit". Independent.co.uk. 10 June 2021.
24. "Patrol ships bid farewell to Portsmouth as they begin Indo-Pacific deployment".
25. "HMS Tamar protects paradise in rare visit to UK's Indian Ocean territory". Royal Navy. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
26. "Royal Navy joins French-led international workout in Indian Ocean". Royal Navy. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
27. "Royal Navy's OPVs Deployed in Indo-Pacific Begin Third Year". Sea Waves Magazine. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
28. "HMS Tamar visits remote tropical island where her crew outnumber the inhabitants". ForcesNet. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
29. @NavyLookout (10 February 2024). "@hms_tamar visited the remote 🇵🇳Pitcairn Islands in mid-January" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 February 2024 – via Twitter.
30. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/07/world/new-zealand-navy-ship-sinks-intl-hnk/index.html
31. https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2024/october/18/20241018-hms-tamar-thanked-for-helping-new-zealand-comrades-after-loss-of-survey-ship-in-samoa
32. https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2024/october/18/20241018-hms-tamar-thanked-for-helping-new-zealand-comrades-after-loss-of-survey-ship-in-samoa
33. https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/defence/royal-navy-hms-tamar-finds-hmnzs-manawanui-sinking-evidence-4830293

External links

• Official website