RFA Stirling Castle information

RFA *Stirling Castle*
	Stirling Castle alongside at Oslo with its previous name Island Crown in 2013
History
Name	Island Crown
Owner	Island Offshore
Port of registry	Nassau (2013–2017); Ålesund (2017–2023);
Builder	Vard Brăila, Romania
Yard number	784
Launched	March 2013
Fate	Sold to UK Ministry of Defence, 14 February 2023
United Kingdom
Name	Stirling Castle
Namesake	Stirling Castle in Scotland
Acquired	14 February 2023
In service	11 April 2024
Homeport	HMNB Clyde
Identification	Pennant number: M01; Call Sign : LACO8; IMO number: 9630535; MMSI number: 232047057;
Status	In active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	VARD UT 776 CD
Type	Mine Countermeasures Maritime Autonomous Systems (MCM MAS)
Tonnage	5,840 GT; 1,783 NT; 4,600 DWT;
Displacement	6,000 tonnes
Length	96.8 m (317 ft 7 in)
Beam	20.0 m (65 ft 7 in)
Draught	6.0 m (19 ft 8 in)
Propulsion	4 × Bergen Engines C25:33L-6 diesel engines (4 × 2,000 kW, 2,700 hp); 2 × Kongsberg azimuth thrusters (2 × 3,500 kW, 4,700 hp); 3 × Kongsberg bow thrusters (3 × 1,882 kW, 2,524 hp);
Complement	100
Aviation facilities	Helipad

RFA Stirling Castle is a ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary operated by the Ministry of Defence. Acquired in 2023, the ship entered drydock at HMNB Devonport for modification into a trials platform for autonomous minehunting systems that are to operate from a larger mother ship. The ship was formerly named MV Island Crown, and used as an offshore supply vessel operated by Island Offshore.^[8] The vessel was sold to the Ministry of Defence in January 2023 for £40 million.^[8]

Stirling Castle is one of two new commercial vessels acquired for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 2023, the other being RFA Proteus, a multi-role ocean surveillance ship to protect seabed infrastructure and communications.^[9] From the mid-2020s, up to three additional ships performing the role of mine countermeasures command and support vessel are also planned for acquisition.^[10] These vessels will fill a gap left as a result of the retirement of the Royal Navy's Sandown-class minehunters, all of which are scheduled to leave service by 2025.^[11]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "ISLAND CROWN". DNV Vessel Register. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
^ @NavyLookout (23 April 2023). "Formal renaming and registration of @RFAStrlngCastle has been completed. She will receive the pennant number M01 but remain painted blue & white as a trials platform" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 April 2023 – via Twitter.
^ "ISLAND CROWN (9630535)". Equasis. Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
^ "Why has the Royal Navy decommissioned 6 ships in a year?". Navy Lookout. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
^ "Island Crown". Vard Group AS. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
^ "PSV becomes subsea and accommodation vessel". rivieramm.com. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
^ Cite error: The named reference BalticShipping was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b "New autonomous £40m mine-hunting mothership arrives at HMNB Devonport". Forces.net. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
^ "First images of new Multi Role Ocean Support ship (MROS) renamed RFA Proteus". Navy Lookout. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
^ "Up close with RFA Stirling Castle – first of the navy's new motherships". Navy Lookout. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
^ "Why has the Royal Navy decommissioned 6 ships in a year?". Navy Lookout. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.

[SCParticulars-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "ISLAND CROWN". DNV Vessel Register. Retrieved 13 April 2023.

[NavyLookoutTwitter-2] @NavyLookout (23 April 2023). "Formal renaming and registration of @RFAStrlngCastle has been completed. She will receive the pennant number M01 but remain painted blue & white as a trials platform" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 April 2023 – via Twitter.

[3] "ISLAND CROWN (9630535)". Equasis. Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Retrieved 13 April 2023.

[navylookout-4] "Why has the Royal Navy decommissioned 6 ships in a year?". Navy Lookout. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.

[VardSpec-5] "Island Crown". Vard Group AS. Retrieved 14 April 2023.

[RivieraMM-6] "PSV becomes subsea and accommodation vessel". rivieramm.com. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2023.

[BalticShipping-7] Cite error: The named reference BalticShipping was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[forcesnetcost-8] "New autonomous £40m mine-hunting mothership arrives at HMNB Devonport". Forces.net. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.

[navylookoutfirstimages-9] "First images of new Multi Role Ocean Support ship (MROS) renamed RFA Proteus". Navy Lookout. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

[10] "Up close with RFA Stirling Castle – first of the navy's new motherships". Navy Lookout. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.

[11] "Why has the Royal Navy decommissioned 6 ships in a year?". Navy Lookout. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.

RFA Stirling Castle information

and 16 Related for: RFA Stirling Castle information

RFA Stirling Castle

RFA Proteus

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Future of the Royal Navy

HMS Stirling Castle

HMNB Clyde

List of miscellaneous ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

List of active Royal Navy ships

Royal Navy

List of Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship names

RFA Lyme Bay

RFA Cardigan Bay

RFA Fort Victoria

RFA Mounts Bay

RFA Tideforce

RFA Fort Austin

History
Stirling Castle alongside at Oslo with its previous name Island Crown in 2013
Name	Island Crown
Owner	Island Offshore
Port of registry	Nassau (2013–2017) Ålesund (2017–2023)
Builder	Vard Brăila, Romania^[1]
Yard number	784
Launched	March 2013^[1]
Fate	Sold to UK Ministry of Defence, 14 February 2023
United Kingdom
Name	Stirling Castle
Namesake	Stirling Castle in Scotland
Acquired	14 February 2023
In service	11 April 2024
Homeport	HMNB Clyde^[4]
Identification	Pennant number: M01^[2] Call Sign : LACO8^[3] IMO number: 9630535^[1] MMSI number: 232047057
Status	In active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	VARD UT 776 CD^[5]
Type	Mine Countermeasures Maritime Autonomous Systems (MCM MAS)
Tonnage	5,840 GT^[7] 1,783 NT^[1] 4,600 DWT
Displacement	6,000 tonnes^[1]
Length	96.8 m (317 ft 7 in)^[1]
Beam	20.0 m (65 ft 7 in)^[1]
Draught	6.0 m (19 ft 8 in)^[1]
Propulsion	4 × Bergen Engines C25:33L-6 diesel engines (4 × 2,000 kW, 2,700 hp)^[1] 2 × Kongsberg azimuth thrusters (2 × 3,500 kW, 4,700 hp) 3 × Kongsberg bow thrusters (3 × 1,882 kW, 2,524 hp)^[1]
Complement	100^[6]
Aviation facilities	Helipad