The ninth and current HMS Severn is a River class offshore patrol vessel

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...

 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...

. Named after the River Severn

River Severn

The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...

, the ship is the first to bear the name in 56-years.

She was built by Vosper Thornycroft

VT Group

VT Group plc was a British defence and services company, formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft. The Company had diversified from shipbuilding into various engineering and support services, becoming involved in many areas of provision through five main operating groups: VT Communications, VT...

 in Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

 to serve as fishery protection units within the United Kingdom's waters along with her two sister ships Mersey

HMS Mersey (P283)

The fifth and current HMS Mersey is a River class offshore patrol vessel of the British Royal Navy. Named after the River Mersey, the ship is the first to bear the name in 84 years....

 and Tyne

HMS Tyne (P281)

HMS Tyne is the sixth Royal Navy ship to carry the name Tyne. She is a River class offshore patrol vessel built by Vosper Thornycroft in Southampton to serve as a fishery protection unit within the United Kingdom's waters along with her two sister ships Mersey and Severn...

. All three were commissioned into service in 2003 to replace the five older Island class patrol vessel

Island class patrol vessel

The Island-class patrol vessel was first designed and built for the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. As a result of the Royal Navy's experiences in the so-called Cod War with Iceland, and the success of FPV Jura in fishery protection patrols, the Navy built a further seven...

s.

HMS Severn was affiliated with the city of Newport

Newport

Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...

 in September 2003 and awarded the freedom of the city in June 2006. http://www.newport.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/press_release/cont067319.pdf

External links

• Royal Navy site
• Additional pictures of HMS Severn including her visit to Dartmouth, Devon
  Dartmouth, Devon
  Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...
  
  on 24 July 2010