Name HMS Mersey Ordered April 2001 Commissioned 28 November 2003 Launched 14 June 2003 Draft 3.8 m Builder VT Group | Sponsored by Mrs Jennie Reeve Length 80 m Endurance 21 days 0 hours | |
The fifth and current HMS Mersey is a River-class offshore patrol vessel of the British Royal Navy. Named after the River Mersey, the ship is the first to be named Mersey in 84 years. Various tenders (predominantly Ton Class minesweepers) were renamed Mersey during their service with Mersey Division Royal Naval Reserve (HMS Eaglet) between the early 1950s and late 1970s.
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She was built by Vosper Thornycroft in Southampton to serve as a fishery protection vessel within the United Kingdom's waters along with her two sister ships Tyne and Severn. All three were commissioned into service in 2003 to replace the five older Island-class patrol vessels. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 28 November 2003. At that time, Mersey was not expected to commence duties until February 2004.
Mersey was the last Royal Navy ship to be launched from Vosper Thornycroft at its Woolston shipyard; Jennie Reeve, wife of Rear-Admiral Jonathon Reeve, Chief of Fleet Support, was the ship's sponsor. The first ship launched at the yard was the Tribal-class destroyer Tartar on 25 June 1907.
Service history
For the first thirteen years of her life, Mersey operated around the United Kingdom on Fishery Protection duties.
In October 2013, Mersey was dry docked in Falmouth.
In January 2016, Mersey became the second River Class OPV to be deployed to the Caribbean following on from her sister Severn in 2015. In May 2016, Mersey was dry docked in Martinique as part of her mid-deployment maintenance period. By July, Mersey was had been relieved by RFA Wave Knight and was deployed on migrant patrols in the Aegean via a port call in Gibraltar. Mersey returned to Portsmouth on 10th February 2017 after 13 months away to resume her Fishery Protection duties.
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