Shoreham off Bahrain in 2021
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Shoreham
BuilderVosper Thornycroft
Launched9 April 2001
Commissioned20 July 2002
DecommissionedOctober 2022
HomeportHMNB Clyde
Identification
StatusDecommissioned, transferred to Ukraine as Cherkasy
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeSandown-class minehunter
Displacement600 t (590 long tons)[1]
Length52.5 m (172 ft 3 in)
Beam10.9 m (35 ft 9 in)
Draught2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)
Propulsion
Speed13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement34 (accommodation for up to 40)
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Radar Type 1007 I-Band
  • Sonar Type 2093
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • SeaFox mine disposal system
  • Diver-placed explosive charges
Armament
HMS Shoreham leads a MCM convoy in the Persian Gulf, 2012

HMS Shoreham was a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. She was the fifth vessel to bear the name. From 2018 to 2021, Shoreham was deployed at UKNSF Bahrain together with three other mine countermeasures ships as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron[2] on Operation Kipion. In 2022 she was decommissioned and was transferred to Ukraine.

Operational history

Royal Navy (UK)

2001–2010

Shoreham was accepted into service on 28 November 2001 and commissioned in a ceremony in her namesake port on 20 July 2002.

2011–2022

In 2012, Shoreham deployed to the Persian Gulf to join the 9th Mine Countermeasures squadron based in Bahrain. She returned to Faslane on 28 August 2015 after three years away.[3]

Shoreham entered refit in Rosyth in 2016 for repair work to her hull. Other work carried out included installing a new galley, fitting a new fire detection system and improving the high-pressure air system. She was handed back to the Royal Navy in January 2017.[4]

In spring 2017, Shoreham deployed with NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1), operating around Northern Europe. During the course of this deployment Shoreham, the last of the Sandown class to be built, took part in naval exercises with the former HMS Sandown, now operated by the Estonian Navy as Admiral Cowan.[5]

From 2018 to 2021, Shoreham served with 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron operating from HMS Jufair in the Persian Gulf. In August 2021, Shoreham returned to the U.K having been relieved by her sister ship HMS Bangor.[6]

In May 2022, Shoreham embarked on a final short tour of the UK ahead of her planned decommissioning including a final visit to her namesake port during which 1,500 members of the public toured the ship.[7][8]

In September 2022, she was spotted operating around Firth of Forth carrying the name "Черкаси" (Ukrainian: Cherkasy)[9] and the pennant number M311. Though still reportedly in commission with the Royal Navy, she was now training sailors of the Ukrainian Navy prior to her planned handover to that Navy.[9][10] In October 2022 it was reported that she had been decommissioned.[11]

Ukrainian Navy

The ship was commissioned into the Ukrainian Navy as "Черкаси" (Ukrainian: Cherkasy) on 2 July 2023. The ceremony was held in Glasgow.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Sandown Class Mine Countermeasures Vessels - Specifications". GlobalSecurity.org. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "RFA Cardigan Bay's winter in the Gulf". Royal Navy. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  3. ↑ "HMS Shoreham returns from Gulf deployment". Royal Navy. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  4. ↑ "'Like new' Shoreham emerges from six-month revamp". Royal Navy. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "Oldest and newest Sandown-class minehunters meet up in Estonia". Royal Navy. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "HMS Middleton & Shoreham Leaving Bahrain After Three Years". Seawaves Magazine. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "HMS Shoreham – the next Royal Navy minehunter to decommission". NavyLookout.com. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "HMS Shoreham says 'adieu to Adur' in emotional final hometown visit". Royal Navy. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  9. 1 2 @NavyLookout (9 September 2022). "HMS Shoreham still in commission, operating around Firth of Forth training Ukrainian sailors in mine warfare" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ↑ "The Sandown-class minehunters for the Ukrainian Navy received their names". Ukrainian Defence Ministry. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  11. ↑ @NavyLookout (20 October 2022). "Ex-HMS Ramsey and HMS Blyth have been sold to the Romanian Navy" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 October 2022 – via Twitter.
  12. ↑ Grotnik, Tomasz (13 July 2023). "Ukraine Commissioned Two MCM Vessels". Naval News. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
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