RFA Stirling Castle

Not to be confused with HMS Stirling Castle.

RFA Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle alongside at Oslo with its previous name Island Crown in 2013
History
NameIsland Crown
OwnerIsland Offshore
Port of registry
BuilderVard Brăila, Romania[1]
Yard number784
LaunchedMarch 2013[1]
FateSold to UK Ministry of Defence, 14 February 2023
United Kingdom
NameStirling Castle
NamesakeStirling Castle in Scotland
Acquired14 February 2023
In service11 April 2024
HomeportHMNB Clyde[2]
Identification
StatusIn active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeVARD UT 776 CD[5]
TypeMine Countermeasures Maritime Autonomous Systems (MCM MAS)
Tonnage
Displacement6,000 tonnes[1]
Length96.8 m (317 ft 7 in)[1]
Beam20.0 m (65 ft 7 in)[1]
Draught6.0 m (19 ft 8 in)[1]
Propulsion
  • 4 × Bergen Engines C25:33L-6 diesel engines (4 × 2,000 kW, 2,700 hp)[1]
  • 2 × Kongsberg azimuth thrusters (2 × 3,500 kW, 4,700 hp)
  • 3 × Kongsberg bow thrusters (3 × 1,882 kW, 2,524 hp)[1]
Complement100[7]
Aviation facilitiesHelipad

RFA Stirling Castle is a ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary operated by the Ministry of Defence. Acquired in 2023, the ship entered drydock at HMNB Devonport for modification into a trials platform for autonomous minehunting systems that are to operate from a larger mother ship. The ship was formerly named MV Island Crown, and used as an offshore supply vessel operated by Island Offshore.[8] The vessel was sold to the Ministry of Defence in January 2023 for £40 million.[8]

Stirling Castle is one of two new commercial vessels acquired for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 2023, the other being RFA Proteus, a multi-role ocean surveillance ship to protect seabed infrastructure and communications.[9] Up to three additional ships performing the role of mine countermeasures command and support vessel are also planned for acquisition. These will either be converted former commercial vessels, similar to RFA Stirling Castle, or new purpose-built ships, as reportedly preferred by the navy.[10][11] These vessels will fill a gap left as a result of the retirement of the Royal Navy's Sandown-class minehunters, all of which are scheduled to leave service by 2025.[12]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "ISLAND CROWN". DNV Vessel Register. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Why has the Royal Navy decommissioned 6 ships in a year?". Navy Lookout. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  3. ^ @NavyLookout (23 April 2023). "Formal renaming and registration of @RFAStrlngCastle has been completed. She will receive the pennant number M01 but remain painted blue & white as a trials platform" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 April 2023 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "ISLAND CROWN (9630535)". Equasis. Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Island Crown". Vard Group AS. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference BalticShipping was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "PSV becomes subsea and accommodation vessel". rivieramm.com. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  8. ^ a b "New autonomous £40m mine-hunting mothership arrives at HMNB Devonport". Forces.net. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  9. ^ "First images of new Multi Role Ocean Support ship (MROS) renamed RFA Proteus". Navy Lookout. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  10. ^ "The Royal Navy wants three new-build mine hunting motherships". Navy Lookout. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Up close with RFA Stirling Castle – first of the navy's new motherships". Navy Lookout. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Why has the Royal Navy decommissioned 6 ships in a year?". Navy Lookout. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.