HMS Trent

HMS Trent is a Batch 2 offshore patrol vessel, named after the River Trent. This is the sixth Royal Navy ship named Trent. She is the third Batch 2 River-class vessel to be commissioned and is forward deployed to Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Guinea. Construction On 6 November 2013 it was announced that the Royal Navy had signed an agreement in principle to build three new offshore patrol vessels, based on the River-class design, at a fixed price of £348 million including spares and support. In August 2014, BAE Systems signed the contract to build the ships on the Clyde. The Ministry of Defence stated that the Batch 2 ships are capable of being used for constabulary duties such as "counter-terrorism, counter-piracy and anti-smuggling operations". According to BAE Systems, the vessels are designed to deploy globally, conducting anti-piracy, counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling tasks currently conducted by frigates and destroyers. Steel was cut, marking the start of construction of Trent, on 7 October 2015 at the BAE Systems Govan shipyard in Glasgow. Trent was officially named – the equivalent to a traditional slipway launch – on the south bank of the Clyde at BAE's Govan yard on 13 March 2018, completing her first sea trials in June the following year. She made her first entry into Portsmouth Harbour on 19 December 2019. Operational history She was commissioned on 3 August 2020 and deployed to the Mediterranean for NATO Operation Sea Guardian, before returning to the UK in September. The 2021 defence white paper announced that HMS Trent would be permanently based at Gibraltar as part of the Gibraltar Squadron for operations in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Gulf of Guinea. Trent arrived at Gibraltar in April 2021.