Royal Navy River-class OPV duo ready for Indo-Pacific deployment

Royal Navy offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) HMS Tamar and HMS Spey are preparing for deployment in the Indo-Pacific region.

According to the Royal Navy, the vessels will remain in the Indo-Pacific for the next few years as part of the navy’s forward presence programme.

HMS Tamar and HMS Spey are set to leave for deployment at the end of the month.

To remind, the Royal Navy commissioned HMS Tamar on 17 December last year during a short ceremony in Portsmouth.

Tamar is the fourth of five Batch 2 River-class OPVs to join the fleet, having arrived in Portsmouth from BAE Systems’ shipyards on the Clyde at the end of March.

HMS Spey is the final River-class ship and was delivered to Portsmouth at the end of October 2020. It joined the Royal Navy’s fleet this January.

The 2000-ton newbuild was delivered to Portsmouth Naval Base from BAE Systems’ shipyards on the Clyde for the final stages of construction before Spey’s crew took custody of it on 7 January 2021.