The River class is a class

Ship class

A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....

 of three offshore patrol vessels in 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...

, replacing the seven ships of the Island class

Island class patrol vessel

The Island-class patrol vessel was first designed and built for the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. As a result of the Royal Navy's experiences in the so-called Cod War with Iceland, and the success of FPV Jura in fishery protection patrols, the Navy built a further seven...

. A fourth, modified vessel based on the River class has also been built for the Royal Navy, replacing the Castle class

Castle class patrol vessel

-Ships in Class:HMS Leeds Castle HMS Dumbarton Castle -Design:The Castle class was intended as a series of six offshore patrol vessels for the Royal Navy, designed in response to criticism of the previous Island class for insufficient speed, non optimal sea keeping and lack of a flight deck for...

, for duties in the Falklands

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

. They are primarily used in the fisheries protection role.

Ships in Class

HMS Severn

HMS Severn (P282)

The ninth and current HMS Severn is a River class offshore patrol vessel of the British Royal Navy. Named after the River Severn, the ship is the first to bear the name in 56-years....

 (P282) (Commissioned June 2003)

HMS Tyne

HMS Tyne (P281)

HMS Tyne is the sixth Royal Navy ship to carry the name Tyne. She is a River class offshore patrol vessel built by Vosper Thornycroft in Southampton to serve as a fishery protection unit within the United Kingdom's waters along with her two sister ships Mersey and Severn...

 (P281) (Commissioned July 2003)

HMS Mersey

HMS Mersey (P283)

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 bear the name in 84 years....

 (P283) (Commissioned December 2003)

Design

The three ships are significantly larger than the Island-class vessels, and in addition to all of their other features, have a large open deck aft, which allows the ships to be fitted with specific equipment for a specific role, which can include fire-fighting, disaster relief and anti-pollution work. For this purpose, a 25 tonne capacity crane

Crane (machine)

A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...

 is fitted. In addition, the deck is strong enough for the transport of various tracked and wheeled light vehicles, or an LCVP

LCVP

The Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively in amphibious landings in World War II. The craft was designed by Andrew Higgins of Louisiana, United States, based on boats made for operating in swamps and marshes...

.

Ownership

The three ships are not owned directly by the Royal Navy. Instead they were constructed under an arrangement with the shipbuilder, Vosper Thornycroft, under which the Royal Navy charter the vessels from the shipbuilder which is responsible for all maintenance and support for the ships during the charter period. At the end of this, the Navy can either return the ships, renew the lease or purchase them outright.

Running costs

Date	Running cost	What is included	Citation
2009-10	£5 million	"The average running cost per class of River Class is £20 million... These figures, based on the expenditure incurred by the Ministry of Defence in 2009-10, include maintenance, safety certification, military upgrades, manpower, inventory, satellite communication, fuel costs and depreciation."

Modified River class

A modified fourth Batch II vessel, HMS Clyde

HMS Clyde (P257)

HMS Clyde is the ninth ship in the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was launched on 14 June 2006 in Portsmouth Naval Base by VT Group shipbuilders in Portsmouth, England and is the fourth vessel of the River class and the first of a lengthened variety with a larger displacement of 1,850 tonnes and...

, constructed at Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 Dockyard, replaced the two vessels of the Castle class for duties in the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

. This ship displaces 1,850 tonnes and has a 30 mm gun.

External links

• Naval Technology: River class project page