Name HMSML Gleaner Builder Emsworth Commissioned 5 December 1983 Length 15 m Displacement 22,000 kg | Sponsored by Mrs. M. Read Launched 18 October 1983 Weight 22 tons Draft 1.6 m | |
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HMSML Gleaner (H86) is the smallest commissioned vessel in the Royal Navy with a length of just under 15 metres and a ship's company of just nine (two officers, one Senior Rating and six Junior Ratings). She is currently based in Devonport, Plymouth. The ship prefix "HMSML" stands for Her Majesty's Small Motor Launch.
Its cost of maintenance has increased across fiscal years 2010-2014.
According to a parliamentary written reply and Freedom of Information answer, Gleaner will be withdrawn from service in 2018.
History
She is the sixth ship to bear the name Gleaner and was commissioned on 5 December 1983. With a top speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph), Gleaner was designed to conduct inshore surveys along the south coast of England, though she has since surveyed all around the coastline of Great Britain and visited various ports in Europe.
As an advanced survey vessel, Gleaner possesses an array of sophisticated technology, including multibeam and sidescan sonar to collect bathymetry and seabed texture data and compile an accurate and detailed picture of the seabed for later analysis. Her survey equipment also includes an Applanix POS MV system for georeferencing and motion compensation, C-NAV GPS, Kongsberg EM2040 Multibeam Echo Sounder and Kongsberg EA400 Singlebeam Echo Sounder.
Gleaner also has the unique distinction of being the only Royal Navy ship to have visited landlocked Switzerland, having travelled up the Rhine to Basle in 1988.
She was also in attendance at the 2010 Portsmouth Navy Days.
In 2016, Gleaner conducted an extensive survey of the Firth of Forth as part of the preparation work for the departure of HMS Queen Elizabeth in the spring of 2017. This work was necessary as the most recent survey was 60 years old.