HMC ''Sentinel'' was a patrol ship operated by the
Border Force
Border Force (BF) is a British law enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail ports in the United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from i ...
in the role of patrolling the waters of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It is a
Vosper Thornycroft
VTG (formerly VT Group) is a privately held United States defense and services company, with its origins in a former British shipbuilding group, previously known as Vosper Thornycroft. The British part of VTG was integrated into Babcock Interna ...
'Island Class' vessel and was commissioned in 1993.
History
HMC ''Sentinel'' entered service in 1993 with what was then
HM Customs and Excise
HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was the ...
(HMCE). HMCE merged with the
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...
in 2005, and the cutter fleet became part of the newly founded
HM Revenue and Customs
His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a department of the UK government responsible for the collection of taxes, the payment of some forms of stat ...
. In 2008, the fleet transferred to the
UK Border Agency
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) was the border control agency of the Government of the United Kingdom and part of the Home Office that was superseded by UK Visas and Immigration, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement in April 2013. It was forme ...
and then to
UK Border Force
Border Force (BF) is a British law enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail ports in the United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from it ...
, both established to maintain the UK border, and it operated as the oldest vessel in the
UK Border Force
Border Force (BF) is a British law enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail ports in the United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from it ...
's fleet of five cutters. HMC ''Sentinel'' was decommissioned July 2013 in Portsmouth, Hampshire. She was offered for sale in 2015 and has now been sold (2018). Currently listed as a private vessel registered in Mongolia and was seen in Plymouth, Devon, on the
19 October 2018 flying the Mongolian flag.
Prefix
From the merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise into HM Revenue and Customs on 18 April 2005, customs cutters changed their prefix from "HMRC" (Her Majesty's Revenue Cutter) to "HMCC" (Her Majesty's Customs Cutter). Following the transfer to the UK Border Agency this was shortened to the present "HMC" (Her Majesty's Cutter) and a new livery was applied to the fleet.
Propulsion
The cutter is fitted with twin Caterpillar diesel engines (Caterpillar 3516B DI-TA elec Diesel Engines 4,176 kW; 5,600 hp) and a Perkins CV8M600 Diesel Engine.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sentinel
1993 ships
Ships of the United Kingdom
Customs cutters of the United Kingdom