HMS ''Portland'' is a

Type 23 frigate The Type 23 frigate or Duke class is a class of frigates built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The ships are named after British Dukes, thus leading to the class being commonly known as the Duke class. The first Type 23, , was commissio ...

of the British

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. She is the eighth ship to bear the name and is the fifteenth and penultimate ship of the 'Duke' class of frigates, and is named for the currently extinct title of the Dukedom of Portland, and more particularly for the third Duke, who was Prime Minister.

Operational history

2000–2010

The ship was accepted into service by the Royal Navy on 15 December 2000 and was commissioned on 3 May the following year. Present at the commissioning ceremony was ''Portland''s sponsor Lady Brigstocke, wife of Admiral Sir John Brigstocke, a former

Second Sea Lord The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (formerly Second Sea Lord) is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer to currently serve in the Royal Navy and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establish ...

; Lady Brigstocke launched the ship in 1999. During sea trials ''Portland'' attained a top speed of , the fastest speed attained by any Type 23 frigate at that time. Portland's Lynx helicopter (XZ724) was lost at sea on 8 December 2004. The aircraft had been launched following the potential sighting of a man overboard. All four crew were killed, including Lieutenant David Cole RN, the flight commander, who had embarked to augment the duty crew. ''Portland'' assisted in the search for men lost from a capsized

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

on 3 February 2007. She was deployed to the Caribbean for seven months in 2007, intercepting 3.5 tonnes of cocaine in cooperation with a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) and conducting disaster relief in Belize following Hurricane Dean. In April 2008, ''Portland'' visited

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

with and berthed at the cruise liner terminal at

Prince's Dock The Port of Hull is a port at the confluence of the River Hull and the Humber Estuary in Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Seaborne trade at the port can be traced to at least the 13th century, originally con ...

. In June 2009 while taking part in anti-piracy operations off the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

, ''Portland'' intercepted ten alleged pirates but because the suspects were not caught in the immediate act of piracy, the vessel was unable legally to detain them. In late April 2010, ''Portland'' relieved on the Atlantic Patrol Task (South).

2011–present

HMS Portland crew parade (Commander Sarah West cropped)

June 2011 saw ''Portland'' conducting night Naval Gunnery practice off Gibraltar in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

. Towards the end of the month she sailed to

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to take part in

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. She was the first major warship in the Royal Navy to be commanded by a woman: Commander

Sarah West Sarah West (born 1972) is a retired Royal Navy officer, the first woman to be appointed to command a major warship in the Royal Navy. West was born in Lincolnshire and studied mathematics at the University of Hertfordshire before entering Brita ...

assumed command of HMS ''Portland'' on 21 May 2012, but was relieved of command in July 2014 following an alleged affair with one of the ship's officers. ''Portland'' spent 2012 at Rosyth in a 50-week refit that saw her upgraded with

Sonar 2087 Sonar 2087 is a towed array sonar designed and manufactured by Thales Underwater Systems at sites in the UK (Cheadle Heath in Stockport and Templecombe in Somerset) and in France ( Brest). Sonar 2087 replaces the older Sonar 2031 in the Royal Navy ...

, new IT systems, Sea Wolf mid-life overhaul, gun replacements, galley refurbishment and accommodation improvements. She left Rosyth on 14 December 2012 for three months of sea trials. In August 2013, she was announced as the Fleet Ready Escort for the next two months. She participated in

Exercise Joint Warrior Exercise Joint Warrior is a major biannual multi-national military exercise which takes place in the United Kingdom, predominately in north west Scotland. It is the successor of the Neptune Warrior exercises and Joint Maritime Course. Joint ...

2013. On 2 August 2014, she completed the 7-month task of the Atlantic Patrol ship. On 20 June 2016, ''Portland'' departed Devonport for a nine-month patrol covering the Middle East and the South Atlantic Ocean. ''Portland'' was the last Royal Navy ship to carry Radar 996 and was the last ship to conduct a Replenishment at Sea with prior to the latter ship's decommissioning In 2018, ''Portland'' began a Life Extension (LIFEX) refit at

Babcock Babcock is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alpheus Babcock (1785–1842), American piano and musical instrument maker * Audrey Babcock American operatic mezzo-soprano *Barbara Babcock (born 1937), American actress * ...

's Frigate Support Centre in Devonport. Her refit included the installation of the Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missile system, 997 surveillance radar, 1084 navigational radar and the 2150 hull-mounted sonar. She returned to sea in March 2021.

Affiliations

Irish Guards ("Who Shall Separate s") , colors = , identification_symbol_2 Saffron (pipes), identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Tactical Recognition F ...

The Royal Wessex Yeomanry The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY) is a Reserve armoured regiment of the British Army Reserve consisting of five squadrons. Formerly part of 43 (Wessex) Brigade, the regiment joined 3rd (UK) Division in July 2014, to provide armoured (main battle ...

Worshipful Company of Scriveners The Worshipful Company of Scriveners is one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London. The Scriveners Company was originally known as the ''Mysterie of the Writers of the Court Letter'' and, since its incorporation, as ''Master Wardens ...

Worshipful Company of Masons
* Dorset Chamber of Commerce *

Earl of Portland Earl of Portland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England, firstly in 1633 and secondly in 1689. What proved to be a long co-held title, Duke of Portland, was created in 1716 and became extinct in 1990 upon the death of ...

* Cambridge URNU

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Portland Frigates of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Clyde 1999 ships Type 23 frigates of the Royal Navy