HMS Enterprise, the tenth ship to bear this name, is a multi-role survey vessel - hydrographic oceanographic

Survey vessel

A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for mapping. It is a type of research vessel.-Role:The task of survey vessels is to map the bottom, benthic zone, full water column, and surface for the purpose of:* hydrography* general oceanography...

 (SVHO) of the 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...

. She has a sister ship, , and together they make up the Echo class of survey vessels.

Design

Echo and Enterprise are the first Royal Navy ships to be fitted with azimuth thruster

Azimuth thruster

An azimuth thruster is a configuration of ship propellers placed in pods that can be rotated in any horizontal direction, making a rudder unnecessary...

s. Both azimuth thrusters and the bow thruster can be controlled through the integrated navigation system by a joystick providing high manoeuvrability. Complete control and monitoring for power generation and propulsion, together with all auxiliary plant systems, tank gauging and damage control functions is provided through the integrated platform management system (IPMS), accessible through workstations around the ship.

Role

Enterprise and her sister ship are designed to conduct survey operations in support of submarines or amphibious operations. She can provide almost real-time tailored environmental information, and also has a secondary role as a mine countermeasure tasking authority platform, for which she is capable of embarking a dedicated mine counter measures command team.

Construction

Built by Appledore Shipbuilders

Appledore Shipbuilders

-History:The Appledore Yard was founded in 1855 on the estuary of the River Torridge. The Richmond Dry Dock was built in 1856 by William Yeo and named after Richmond Bay in Prince Edward Island, where the Yeo family's shipping fleet was based....

 under the prime contractor Vosper Thornycroft, Enterprise was launched on 27 April 2002, officially named by the ship's sponsor

Ship Sponsor

A ship sponsor, by tradition, is a female civilian who is invited to "sponsor" a vessel, presumably to bestow good luck and divine protection over the seagoing vessel and all that sail aboard...

, Lady Sally Forbes, at her naming ceremony on 2 May 2002, and commissioned on 18 October 2003. She is designed and built to Lloyd's Naval Ship Rules.

Manning

Enterprises crew consists of 72 personnel, with 48 onboard at any one time, working a cycle of 75 days on, 30 days off. The ship can accommodate 81 personnel if necessary. The ship is operationally available 330 days a year. In support of this high availability, all accommodation and recreational facilities are designed for an unusual (in a warship) degree of comfort. All personnel share double cabins with private facilities, except the captain and executive officer who both have single cabins.

2004 Mediterranean deployment

Her first operational overseas deployment was to the Mediterranean in October 2004, returning to Devonport

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

 in April 2005. She participated in a NATO exercise and conducted oceanographic and hydrographic survey.

2005 Middle East deployment

She sailed in September 2005 to conduct survey operations in the Gulf of Aden and Somali Basin. She also conducted a collaborative hydrographic survey with the Saudi military.

2007 West Africa deployment

In 2007 Enterprise deployed for 19 months to West Africa, South Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. While in the Gulf she worked off the coast of Iraq in support of the UK and Iraqi governments.

2009 Africa and Gulf deployment

Enterprise deployed in June 2009 for two years on an extended deployment to West Africa spending three months there before travelling through the Mediterranean to begin operations east of Suez later in the year. She returned to Devonport on 10 June 2011, having covered over 50000 miles (80,467 km) during the deployment.

Affiliations

Enterprise is affiliated with 'D' (Royal Devon Yeomanry

Royal Devon Yeomanry

The Royal Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794, it participated in the Boer War, World War I and World War II and now forms a squadron of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry.-History:...

) Squadron Royal Wessex Yeomanry

Royal Wessex Yeomanry

The Royal Wessex Yeomanry is an armoured regiment of the British Territorial Army consisting of four squadrons, each of which bears the cap badge of an old yeomanry regiment:*B Squadron*A Squadron...

and the town of Tiverton, Devon, which includes the freedom of the city

Freedom of the City

Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...

 with the ship's company able to march through the town with flags flying whilst bearing arms. She is also the affiliated ship of Reading Blue Coat School

Reading Blue Coat School

Reading Blue Coat School is a boys' independent school in Holme Park in the village of Sonning, in the English county of Berkshire, to the east of the town of Reading...

 (RBCS) CCF Navy Section and the Worshipful Company of Cutlers

Worshipful Company of Cutlers

The Worshipful Company of Cutlers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The trade of knife making and repairing was organised in the thirteenth century; the organisation received a Royal Charter later in 1416...

.