A new Royal Navy small survey vessel that will replace the recently decommissioned HMSML Gleaner will be named HMS Magpie, Royal Navy First Sea Lord Admiral Philip Jones announced.
The last HMS Magpie was commanded by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in Malta in the early 1950s.
Motor Survey launch Magpie will be charting ports and estuaries around Britain, as her predecessor HM Survey Motor Launch Gleaner had been doing for 35 years.
Magpie is currently being built at Safehaven Marine as part of a £48 million contract under which the Royal Navy will receive up to 38 new workboats, ranging in size from 11 to 18 meters.
The future HMSML Magpie will be the longest; an 18-meter twin deck catamaran based on Safehaven’s Wildcat 60 design. According to company specifications, the Wildcat 60 has a 33,000kg lightship displacement and a loaded displacement of 37,000kg.
It is purposely designed for ocean research and hydrographic survey and is capable of operating offshore for 7 days with 12 crew. Powered by twin Volvo D16 engines, the vessel has a 23kts maximum speed and a 1,400 nautical mile range at displacement survey speeds of 8-9kts.