The Royal Navy’s latest specialist minehunting ship HMS Stirling Castle was welcomed to its new Portsmouth home ahead of spearheading underwater operations.
As disclosed, the vessel arrived on November 3, 2025. The distinctive blue-and-white warship sailed into His Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth for the first time under the White Ensign after a period of sea trials.
The trials phase tested Stirling Castle’s propulsion, power generation, heavy lift crane, medical and damage-control capabilities, ensuring the ship meets the demanding standards.
The ship left Birkenhead last month to conduct sea trials and some training off the west coast of England and Scotland as it begins the journey to front-line operations.
HMS Stirling Castle will serve as the floating command ship for remotely-operated and autonomous systems operated by the Royal Navy’s Mine Threat Exploitation Group. The task of the group will be to find and neutralize mines and unexploded ordnance beneath the waves.
The ship joins the Portsmouth-based Mine Countermeasure Squadron 2, whose sailors are more used to operating much smaller Hunt-class minehunters to deal with threats in UK and Middle East waters. Its role is explicitly described as extending the reach and scope of mine‑hunting capabilities by replacing more traditional manned minehunter operations with autonomous assets.
HMS Stirling Castle had formerly operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary since 2023 but was formally commissioned into Royal Naval service in July.