HMS Mersey (P283)

in March 2016 For the first thirteen years of operation, Mersey carried out fishery protection duties around the United Kingdom. In May 2012, Mersey became the first command of Sarah Oakley. In October 2013, Mersey was dry docked in Falmouth. In January 2016, Mersey became the second River-class OPV to be deployed to the Caribbean Sea following on from her sister Severn in 2015. In May 2016, Mersey was dry docked in Martinique as part of her mid-deployment maintenance period. By July, Mersey had been relieved by and was deployed on migrant patrols in the Aegean via a port call in Gibraltar. Mersey returned to Portsmouth on 10 February 2017 after 13 months away to resume her fishery protection duties. On 3 January 2019, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson confirmed that HMS Mersey has been deployed to assist UK and French authorities with illegal migrant crossings in the English Channel. ==Extended service==

On 24 April 2017, in a written answer to a question raised by Sir Nicholas Soames, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Defence Harriett Baldwin stated that Mersey would be decommissioned in 2019. In March 2018, Baldwin's successor Guto Bebb revealed that £12.7M had been allocated from the EU Exit Preparedness Fund to preserve the three Batch 1 ships, should they be needed to control and enforce UK waters and fisheries following the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. On 22 November 2018, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that three Batch 1 River-class ships would be retained in service and forward operated from their affiliated ports. However, the idea of forward basing the Batch 1s was reportedly later abandoned. The ships are now to be retained in service until around 2028. In late 2023, Mersey began a major refit. Mersey completed an eight-month upkeep period in July 2024. ==Affiliations==

• • TS Ardent • The Worshipful Company of Arbitrators ==Freedom of Borough==

• Metropolitan Borough of Sefton - 13 April 2023. ==Citations==