Minehunter HMS Pembroke is expected to arrive in Glasgow today for a short visit where she will welcome on board local schoolchildren and sea cadets.
Royal Navy warship HMS Pembroke will pay a short visit up the River Clyde to Glasgow on Wednesday, March 6, going alongside at King George V Dock.
HMS Pembroke is one of seven Sandown-class mine-hunters based down river at HMNB Clyde at Faslane and this three-day visit is part of her regional engagement programme. The ship will not be open to the public on this occasion, although school groups and sea cadets are being invited on board to tour the ship.
Pupils from Stonelaw High School, Rutherglen and St Andrews Secondary, Carntyne plus TS Cunningham, the sea cadet unit from East Kilbride, will all visit the ship and learn more about the career opportunities available in the Royal Navy.
The small ship returned to her home port in August last year, after spending over three years working in the Gulf alongside multi-national forces. However the 7,000-mile journey home was not without its excitements, when she and sister ship HMS Middleton were called upon to guard a merchant ship in pirate-infested waters.
October saw the small ship lofted skywards when she was hauled out of the water in Faslane’s submarine shed for the first two-weeks of an eight-week overhaul – a necessary tasking after her long duty overseas. Refreshed and rejuvenated, she returns to duty this year conducting training and tasking in British home waters.
The hull and large amounts of the superstructure are built from glass reinforced plastic (GRP), ensuring a strong non-magnetic ship, fit to survive the shocks associated with minehunting activities.
HMS Pembroke uses high-powered sonar to search underwater for mine-like contacts. Upon detection of a contact, classification runs are conducted on various frequencies. Once identified as a potential mine, the Seafox mine disposal system is able to visually identify the target as a mine and then destroy it.
HMS Pembroke also has her own mine clearance diving team which is used to identify potential mine threats beneath the surface.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, March 6, 2013; Image: Royal Navy