HMS St Albans (F83)

300px HMS St Albans (F83)
Career (UK)
Name:	HMS St Albans (F83)
Operator:	Royal Navy
Ordered:	February 1996
Builder:	Yarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down:	18 April 1999
Launched:	6 May 2000
Commissioned:	6 June 2002
Homeport:	Portsmouth
Status:	in active service, as of 2024
General characteristics
Class and type:	'Duke'-class Type 23 frigate
Displacement:	4,900 tonnes
Length:	133 m (463 ft 3 in)
Beam:	16.1 m (52 ft 10 in)
Draught:	7.3 m (23 ft 11 in)
Propulsion:	CODLAG (Combined Diesel-eLectric And Gas) 2 × Rolls-Royce Spey boost gas-turbines 4 × Paxman Valenta diesel engines 2 × GEC electric motors
Speed:	28 knots (52 km/h) 15 knots (28 km/h) on diesel-electric
Range:	7,800 nautical miles (14,400 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement:	185
Armament:	2 x quadruple Harpoon launchers total of 8 harpoons 1 x Sea Wolf GWS.26 VLS total of 32 missiles 2 x twin 12.75in (324mm) tubes for Stingray ASW torpedoes total of 24 torpedoes 1 x 4.5-inch Mk 8 DP gun 2 x DS 30B 30mm AA guns 2 x CIWS Seagnat and DFL3 decoy launchers
Aircraft carried:	1 x Lynx HMA8 or Merlin HM1 helicopter Armed with anti submarine torpedoes anti ship missiles

For other ships of the same name, see HMS St Albans.

HMS St Albans (F83) is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She is the sixth ship to bear the name and is the sixteenth and final ship in the Duke class of frigates.

Her current commanding officer is Commander Adrian K M Pierce RN, who took command in early 2008. Her base is Portsmouth.

History

The ship was launched on the River Clyde on Saturday 6 May 2000. She was built at BAE Systems' Yarrows Yard in Scotstoun, Glasgow.

On the 27 October 2002, before she had even entered operational service, HMS St Albans was struck by the P&O ferry Pride of Portsmouth when gale force winds pushed the ferry into the ship whilst secure on her berth in Portsmouth. HMS St Albans suffered damage to the gun deck, the sea boat supports (davits) and the bridge wing. However, no members of the crew were injured.

In 2004, Commander Steve Dainton RN took command and the ship was deployed on Operation Oracle duties in the Arabian Sea.

In July 2004 the crew were granted Freedom of the City by the Mayor of St Albans.

On the 13 February 2006, HMS St Albans departed on a six-month deployment to the Gulf region. She arrived in the region in early April, where her tasks included protecting Iraqi oil platforms as well as patrol duties in the northern Gulf. During the trip, she provided a diplomatic role by visiting 16 countries, including Algeria, Albania, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Lebanon (before the 2006 conflict with Israel.)

Evacuation of British citizens from Lebanon

As of the 12 July 2006, the ship had completed her tour in the Gulf and had begun her long journey back to Portsmouth. However, on the same day, the conflict between Israel and Lebanon began. As a result, it was announced on Monday 17 July by The Ministry of Defence that HMS St Albans, which was on a route that would take it through the eastern Mediterranean (via the Suez canal), had been redeployed to assist in the evacuation of British citizens trapped in Lebanon (Operation Highbrow). She arrived in the area on Thursday 20 July and on Friday 21 July she picked up 243 evacuees from the dock in Beirut and safely transported them to Cyprus. After completing her role in the evacuation, she remained on operational stand-by in the vicinity of Beirut for a short time before being ordered to return home, their original aim. The ship finally arrived back in Portsmouth on 18 August 2006.

After the tour

Following the ship's successful 6-month tour, the ship underwent maintenance. During this time, the ship received a new CO, Commander Mark Newland RN. He took over from Commander Steve Dainton RN, CO for the previous two years. The ship stayed in British waters, participated in submarine training in the Irish Sea, weapon training off the south coast and visited Glasgow on the 11 November 2006 to take part in Remembrance Sunday events. From 5 January until 15 January 2007 the ship was open to the public as part of the London Boat Show. Following this, the ship conducted various training exercises and engineering trials in the UK. The ships crew then went on Easter leave before returning to conduct more training activities.

Maintenance

In May 2007, HMS St Albans entered a period of maintenance that lasted over a year. The maintenance programme took place in dry dock, situated in Rosyth. Many systems were overhauled and replaced and the ship's crew temporarily re-assigned to other vessels while the ship underwent work. A skeleton crew of engineers supervised the work for the year. Included in the maintenance was the installation of a new Type 2087 sonar system and a conversion to allow the operation of Merlin helicopters, making the ship one of the Fleet’s most advanced frigates.

The upgrade took 15 months and cost £15 million. The ship then returned to its home port of Portsmouth and was accepted back into the fleet in July 2008. The ship was then put through various equipment tests & training routines throughout the later part of the year.

Current status

HMS St Albans left Portsmouth on 19 January 2009 to conduct maritime security patrols in the Mediterranean. The ship joined a NATO Task Group in the Mediterranean and will be protecting busy shipping trade routes. HMS St Albans will also be part of the NATO Response Force (NRF) that can be deployed anywhere that NATO decides at short notice. The ship will also be visiting ports in Majorca, Italy and Egypt whilst in the region. She arrived on the Clyde on 7 May 2009 at 1500hrs, heading for Faslane.

HMS St Albans is currently deployed in the Gulf. She left Portsmouth on 1000hrs on Monday 1 February. Her deployment is to include supporting international efforts in "tackling piracy, illegal trafficking, and smuggling."

Later in the deployment HMS St Albans will help the Iraqi government "protect their oil platforms, and provide security to ensure regional stability".

Affiliations

• The Royal Anglian Regiment
• RAF Marham
• City of St Albans
• Worshipful Company of Haberdashers

External links

• Royal Navy: HMS St Albans