Batch 1 Tyne, Severn and Mersey during her Caribbean deployment in 2016 In early 2001, the Ministry of Defence placed an order with
Vosper Thornycroft (VT) for three River-class offshore patrol vessels to replace the Island class. It was understood that the higher availability rates of the River class (up to 300 days per year) would enable the three new ships to perform the duties of the five ships they replaced. The Royal Navy initially leased the ships from VT under a five-year, £60 million contract. The River class are significantly larger than the Island-class vessels and have a large open deck aft, allowing them to be fitted with equipment for a specific role, which can include fire-fighting,
disaster relief and anti-pollution work. For this purpose, a capacity
crane is fitted. In addition, the deck is strong enough for the transport of various tracked and wheeled light vehicles, or an
LCVP. The class are primarily used with the
Fishery Protection Squadron and
EEZ patrol. On 24 April 2017, in a written answer to a question raised by
Sir Nicholas Soames, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Defence
Harriett Baldwin stated
Severn would be decommissioned in 2017, with
Mersey and
Clyde following in 2019.
Severn was decommissioned in a ceremony at Portsmouth on 27 October 2017, with
Tyne due to follow in May 2018; however, the latter was brought back into service due to defects with
Forth. In March 2018, Baldwin's successor as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Defence,
Guto Bebb, announced that £12.7m had been allocated from the "EU Exit Preparedness Fund" to maintain the three Batch 1 ships to control and enforce UK waters and fisheries following the
United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. On 22 November 2018, the Defence Secretary,
Gavin Williamson, formally announced that the first three Batch 1 River-class ships would be retained in service. HMS
Tyne,
Mersey and
Severn are now part of the Offshore Division of the
Coastal Forces Squadron (the renamed 1st Patrol Boat Squadron). The United Kingdom has formally offered to sell the three River-class Batch 1 OPVs to the
Uruguayan Navy. This proposal, submitted through the British Embassy in late March 2026, serves as a solution to Uruguay's urgent need for ocean-going patrol capabilities following the cancellation of a prior contract with a Spanish shipyard.
Clyde In February 2005, the Ministry of Defence placed an order with VT for the charter of a fourth modified River-class offshore patrol vessel.
Clyde was capable of temporarily embarking up to 110 troops and their equipment and inserting them anywhere on the Falkland Islands.
Clyde was not owned by the Royal Navy, but had instead been leased via a
PFI public–private partnership deal with
BAE Systems. While the other three were purchased outright by the M.O.D, on 7 August 2020 it was announced in a ceremony held at the
HMNB Portsmouth Naval Base that
Clyde had been transferred to the
Royal Bahrain Naval Force, with the ship renamed as
Al-Zubara.
Batch 2 Forth, Medway, Trent On 6 November 2013, it was announced that the British Government had signed an Agreement in Principle to build three new offshore patrol vessels, based on the River-class design, at a fixed price of £348 million, including spares and support for the Royal Navy. In August 2014,
BAE Systems signed the contract to build the ships at their
BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships shipyards in
Glasgow on the
River Clyde. The Ministry of Defence stated that the Batch 2 ships are capable of being used for constabulary duties such as "counter-terrorism, counter-piracy and anti-smuggling operations". According to BAE Systems, the vessels are designed to be deployed globally, conducting anti-piracy, counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling tasks currently conducted by frigates and destroyers. Steel was cut on 10 October 2014 The ships are built at the BAE Systems
Govan shipyard, then transferred to the BAE Systems
Scotstoun shipyard for fitting out. The Batch 2 ships are fundamentally different in appearance and capabilities from the preceding Batch 1. Notable differences include the long hull, The class has been criticised in evidence to the Commons Defence Select Committee: lacking a helicopter hangar, something that will limit usefulness of the helicopter deck by preventing embarkation of a helicopter for anything other than very short periods; lacking a medium calibre gun (such as 76 mm); and poor value for money. It is argued that because of the lack of these features - which could have been incorporated for the price - the vessels will not be as capable in the ocean-going patrol capacity as claimed. A criticism of the class is that the reasoning behind their commissioning was simply to ensure that public money continued to support BAE dockyards and jobs prior to the ordering of the
Type 26 frigate. The Batch 2 ships for the Royal Navy include some 29 modifications and enhancements over the built by BAE Systems for the
Brazilian Navy. The Royal Navy ships are built to more stringent naval standards, with features such as magazine protection, improved hull integrity and fire safety modifications, as well as greater
redundancy.
Forth replaced HMS
Clyde as the Falkland Islands guardship in December 2019, though she returned to the U.K. in early 2026 being replaced by HMS
Medway. All Batch 2 ships are designed to fulfil forward presence tasks, permanently stationed overseas with rotating crews, releasing the
Type 23 frigates which previously filled the roles for other duties. HMS
Medway was commissioned in September 2019, and in January 2020 deployed as the long-term Atlantic Patrol Task (North) ship in the Caribbean. Subsequently, she also served in the
Falkland Islands. HMS
Trent was commissioned in August 2020 and immediately deployed to the Mediterranean on anti-
people smuggling tasks. though by 2025 her taskings there had become less frequent.
Tamar and Spey The
Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 announced a further purchase of two Batch 2 ships at an undisclosed date in the future. Expectations at the time were that this would encompass the three Batch 2 ships announced in 2013, the two additional Batch 2 ships announced in the 2015 defence review, and the modified Batch 1 ship,
Clyde. The three Batch 1 ships without flight decks would be withdrawn in favour of the newer ships. The defence review suggested that the ships could be used to increase the Royal Navy's ability to defend UK interests at home and abroad. The First Sea Lord also elaborated on the potential uses for the Batch 2 ships overseas, including the possibility of basing an extra ship at the Falklands Islands, or forward basing it elsewhere. HM Ships
Tamar and
Spey would join the fleet in 2020 and 2021 respectively, both fulfilling overseas Forward Presence roles and releasing
Type 23 frigates for roles more suited to a higher-capability warship. HMS
Spey began contractor sea trials in September 2020, arriving in her home port of Portsmouth for the first time on 30 October 2020. HMS
Spey was commissioned into the Royal Navy in Portsmouth on 18 June 2021. , Sydney, in 2023, showing the dazzle camouflage that all the Batch 2 ships have received. According to
Forbes, in an emergency the Royal Navy might have to attach anti-ship missiles to its Batch 2 River-class patrol ships to make up for its lack of surface warfare frigates and destroyers, and additional upgrades could include attaching a
Bofors 57 mm gun. However, no such weapons fit had yet been authorised for the River-class ships. In May 2021,
Tamar was repainted with a
dazzle camouflage scheme, for heritage rather than operational reasons; the other Batch 2 ships were similarly treated, the last being
Trent in February 2025. On 7 September 2021, both HMS
Spey and HMS
Tamar left Portsmouth to be forward deployed to the Indo-Pacific region. It is anticipated that they will not return for a minimum of five years and could stay in the region for up to 10 years. ==Foreign orders==