| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Junella |
| Builder | Clelands Shipbuilding Company, Wallsend |
| Acquired | Taken up from trade 11 April 1982 |
| Commissioned | April 1982 |
| Decommissioned | August 1982 |
| Identification | IMO number: 7366142 |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Mine countermeasures vessel |
| Tonnage | 1,650 GRT |
| Length | 217 feet (66 m) |
| Beam | 43 feet (13 m) |
| Installed power | Single 3,180 brake horsepower (2,370 kW) diesel engine |
| Speed | 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) |
| Service record | |
| Commanders: | Lieutenant Mark Rowledge |
| Operations: | Falklands War |
Junella was a fishing trawler, best known for her service with the Royal Navy (as mine countermeasures vessel HMS Junella) during the Falklands War. She was built in 1975 for J Marr & Son, a Hull-based fishing company. On 11 April 1982 she was taken up from trade by the British government and commissioned into the Royal Navy. She was fitted with Second World War era minesweeping gear at Rosyth Dockyard, manned by Royal Navy sailors and allocated to the 11th Mine Countermeasures Squadron. She sailed on 26 April but was unable to commence sweeping until after the 14 June Argentine surrender. In the meantime she was utilised to transfer troops and stores between ships and landed special forces troops at San Carlos. Demining operations commenced on 21 June. Junella returned to the United Kingdom on 11 August, carrying a defused Argentine mine.
Junella was returned to commercial use after the war and in 1983 was sold to the Royal Greenland Trading Department, being renamed Siku. She served with several other companies afterwards under the names Vesttraal and Hill Cove before returning to the name Junella with SA (Fripur), fishing out of Montevideo, Uruguay. After being damaged by fire she was scrapped on 19 July 1999.