HMS Inverness was a Sandown-class

Sandown class minehunter

The Sandown class is a class of minehunter originally built for the British Royal Navy). Sandown-class vessels also serve with the Royal Saudi Navy and the Estonian Navy...

 minehunter

Minehunter

Minehunters are mine countermeasure vessels that actively detect and destroy individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. She was decommissioned in 2005.

Career

Inverness was built by Vosper Thornycroft

VT Group

VT Group plc was a British defence and services company, formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft. The Company had diversified from shipbuilding into various engineering and support services, becoming involved in many areas of provision through five main operating groups: VT Communications, VT...

 and launched on 27 February 1990 as one of the 12 ship class of Sandown-class minehunters.

Inverness took part in the major joint service Exercise Saif Sareea II in Oman

Oman

Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

 throughout October 2001, and also trained on her way back from the Gulf as part of the overarching Exercise Argonaut 2001 maritime task group. During Exercise Saif Sareea II, Inverness formed part of a minehunter group with her sisters Walney

HMS Walney (M104)

HMS Walney was a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. She was the fourth of the Sandown-class minehunters, and the second ship to carry the name, which comes from the island off Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria on the north-west coast of England.-Career:She was launched on 25 November...

, and the Hunt-class

Hunt class MCMV

The Hunt class is a class of thirteen mine countermeasure vessels of the Royal Navy. They combine the separate role of the traditional minesweeper and that of the active minehunter in one hull...

 mine countermeasure vessels Quorn

HMS Quorn (M41)

HMS Quorn , the third ship of this name, is a Hunt-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 23 January 1988, the last ship of her class....

 and Cattistock

HMS Cattistock (M31)

HMS Cattistock , the third ship of this name, is a Hunt-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1981 and commissioned on 5 March 1982, the third ship of her class....

, supported by RFA Diligence

RFA Diligence (A132)

RFA Diligence is a fleet repair ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. She was built by Oesundsvarvet AB Landskrona in Sweden and launched in 1981 as a civilian oil rig support ship,. Diligence first served the RFA during the Falklands War as a civilian owned ship taken up from the trade . As MV Stena...

.

In 2003, Inverness was one of a number of Royal Navy warships taking part in a multi-national exercises off Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, which involved ships and aircraft from a number of the world's navies, including French, German and American units. HMS Inverness was awarded the Freedom of the City of Inverness

Inverness

Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...

 in 2004.

In July 2004, the UK Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

 announced that as part of the restructuring of the Navy, the three oldest Sandown-class minehunters would be retired by April 2005. Inverness was decommissioned in 2005 and was then laid up awaiting a buyer or disposal. In September 2006, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

 signed a contract to acquire the three vessels.

After refitting in Rosyth

Rosyth

Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....

 Inverness was formally handed over to the Estonian Navy in April 2007, and renamed Sakala

EML Sakala (M314)

EML Sakala is a Sandown-class minehunter of the Estonian Navy and belongs to the Estonian Navy Mineships Division. The commanding officer of the vessel is Senior Lieutenant Ain Pärna.-Introduction:...

.