HMS Dumbarton Castle (P265) was an offshore patrol vessel of the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. Her main role was the protection of the offshore assets of the United Kingdom, including oil and gas installations and fisheries out to the 200 mile (370 km) limit.

She spent much of her time deployed in the South Atlantic as guard ship

Guard ship

A guard ship is a warship stationed at some port or harbour to act as a guard, and in former times in the Royal Navy to receive the men impressed for service...

, patrolling around the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

 and South Georgia, alternating with her sister HMS Leeds Castle

HMS Leeds Castle (P258)

HMS Leeds Castle was a Castle-class patrol ship built by Hall, Russell & Company of Aberdeen, Scotland for the Royal Navy. She was launched in October 1980 and commissioned the following August...

. Her long association with the Falkland Islands resulted in the ship's company being given permission to add her name to the roll of honour written in white rocks on the hillside opposite Stanley

Stanley, Falkland Islands

Stanley is the capital and only true cityin the Falkland Islands. It is located on the isle of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2006 census, the city had a population of 2,115...

 in 2007.

Dumbarton Castle was replaced by a River class

River class patrol vessel

The River class is a class of three offshore patrol vessels in the Royal Navy, replacing the seven ships of the Island class. A fourth, modified vessel based on the River class has also been built for the Royal Navy, replacing the Castle class, for duties in the Falklands...

-based vessel, HMS Clyde

HMS Clyde (P257)

HMS Clyde is the ninth ship in the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was launched on 14 June 2006 in Portsmouth Naval Base by VT Group shipbuilders in Portsmouth, England and is the fourth vessel of the River class and the first of a lengthened variety with a larger displacement of 1,850 tonnes and...

, in early 2008.

Both Dumbarton Castle and her sister were sold to Bangladesh in April 2010. HMS Dumbarton Castle left Portsmouth on 21 May 2010 towed by the tug Multratug 7, destined for A&P Tyne for a major regeneration project with her sister ship HMS Leeds Castle

External links

• Royal Navy site