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 | |
| 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 | |
| Status | In active service |
| Badge | |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | VARD UT 776 CD |
| Type | Mine Countermeasures Maritime Autonomous Systems (MCM MAS) |
| Tonnage | |
| 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 |
|
| 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. The vessel was sold to the Ministry of Defence in January 2023 for £40 million.
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. Up to three additional ships performing the role of mine countermeasures command and support vessel are also planned for acquisition. These will either be converted former commercial vessels, similar to RFA Stirling Castle, or new purpose-built ships, as reportedly preferred by the navy. 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.