Name HMS Exploit Commissioned 1988 Length 20.8 m Displacement 54,000 kg | Operator Royal Navy Status in active service Weight 54 tons Builder VT Group | |
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Class and type Archer class patrol vessel | ||
HMS Exploit is an Archer-class (or P2000) patrol and training vessel of the British Royal Navy, built in Woolston by Vosper Thornycroft and commissioned in 1988. She was originally ordered for the now defunct Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS) and had a distinctive black hull like other RNXS vessels. She is attached to Birmingham University Royal Naval Unit (URNU), which exists to provide training to undergraduate students in a wide range of naval skills and to provide opportunities for personal development.
The ship's company consists of a permanent staff of the commanding officer, two senior rates and two junior rates, but can take up to twelve students with training officers usually embarked when conducting navigational training. Whilst at sea, students are able to put into practice navigation and seamanship skills they have learnt in the classroom during weekly training nights. These include chart planning, acting as Officer of the Watch, using the ship's radar and carrying out seamanship evolutions from anchoring to securing alongside. Instruction is given in engineering, firefighting, damage control and ship handling. 'Sea weekend' training is usually limited to visiting UK coastal ports but recent Easter and summer deployments have included visits to France, Holland, Belgium, and the Channel Islands. The ship is based in Penarth Marina, Cardiff.