HMC ''Valiant'' is a Border Force (customs), formerly UK Border Agency, cutter 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 ...

. She was launched by

Damen Shipyards The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. Though it is a major international group doing business in 120 countries, it remains a private family-owned company. Dame ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 2003 and is one of four cutters formerly operated by

His Majesty's 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 state ...

, and since 2008 operated by 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(UKBA) was the border control agency of the Government of the United Kingdom and part of the Home Office that was superseded by UK Visas and Immigration, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement in April 2013.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 after its dissolution in 2013 operated by 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 ...

Prefix

The Inland Revenue and

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 ...

Departments merged to form

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 ...

on 18 April 2005, and from this time customs cutters changed their prefix from "HMRC" (His Majesty's Revenue Cutter) to "HMCC" (His Majesty's Customs Cutter). Following transfer to the UK Border Agency this was shortened to the current "HMC" (His Majesty's Cutter) and a new livery applied to the fleet of cutters.

Construction

HMC ''Valiant'' is the fourth of the Customs and Excise's fleet of customs patrol vessels. She was built in 2003 in the

in the

, and has a steel hull with an aluminium superstructure. Much effort has been expended in making her quiet to reduce crew fatigue; the engines are raft-mounted, decks throughout the ship are of a floating type, and her compartments are constructed on a box-within-a-box principle. A

Rigid Inflatable Boat A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are ...

(RIB) can be launched from her stern

slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving smal ...

. She is fitted with a per minute fire fighting system for dealing with fires in other ships. HMRC Valiant at 2 miles

Propulsion

''Valiant'' is fitted with twin Caterpillar 3516B DI-TA Elec engines driving twin 4-bladed controllable-pitch propellers through a pair of 3.5:1 reduction gearboxes. The total installed power of giving a top speed of . A single Promac bow thruster is installed for slow speed manoeuvring in confined spaces. Electrical power is supplied by a pair of 106kWA generators.

Operational history

On 23 April 2015, together with the Royal Navy frigate ''Somerset'', she intercepted the Tanzanian-registered tug Hamal in the North Sea, about 100 miles off Aberdeen, leading to the seizure of more than three tons of cocaine, believed to be the single largest seizure of a

Class A drug The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (c. 38) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It represents action in line with treaty commitments under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the ...

in the UK. In June 2021, it was revealed that the ''Valiant'' had successfully requested permission to enter French waters to pick up migrants and take them to Britain. The Home Office launched an urgent investigation into the matter.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valiant Ships built in Vlissingen 2004 ships Customs cutters of the United Kingdom