The

Research Vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

''Triton'' is a

trimaran A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recrea ...

vessel owned by Gardline Marine Sciences Limited and a former prototype British warship demonstrator for the UK's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (later QinetiQ). She was built as a technology demonstrator ship for the Royal Navy's

Future Surface Combatant Future Surface Combatant is the designation of shipbuilding programs for: *Future Surface Combatant (Koninklijke Marine), the Netherlands and Belgium * Future Surface Combatant (Royal Navy), United Kingdom * Future Surface Combatant (U.S. Navy) or ...

, and has been used to both prove the viability of the hull-form and as a trials platform for other QinetiQ innovations. The ship was used by the

Australian Border Force The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a federal law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control enforcement, investigations, compliance and detention operations in Australia. T ...

Marine Unit Police watercraft are boats or other vessels that are used by police agencies to patrol bodies of water. They are usually employed on major rivers, in enclosed harbors near cities or in places where a stronger presence than that offered by the ...

, and was for a time moored in the River Fal near the King Harry chain ferry. Up until July 2019 she was moored on the River Yare,

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

, England.Triton boat moved from Great Yarmouth , Latest Norfolk and Suffolk Business News , Eastern Daily Press
Retrieved 2019-08-04.

Construction

In August 1998, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded a contract to Vosper Thornycroft to construct the trimaran, at a cost of £13.5m RV ''Triton'' was launched at Woolston in May 2000 and delivered in August 2000. ''Triton'' then began a two-year risk reduction trials programme for the UK MoD and the US Department of Defense. The vessel's three parallel hulls are reflected in her name which refers to the maritime god Triton who carried the three-pronged spear, the trident. The

outrigger An outrigger is a projecting structure on a boat, with specific meaning depending on types of vessel. Outriggers may also refer to legs on a wheeled vehicle that are folded out when it needs stabilization, for example on a crane that lifts h ...

s are thinner and much shorter than the dominant central hull.

Operational history

DERA and QinetiQ

''Triton'' was designed as a demonstrator to prove that the trimaran concept would work successfully in a large warship. Following her launch in 2000, the ship began an extensive series of trials in 2001, which covered general ship handling, performance, sea-keeping behaviour, but also areas more specific to its design for which the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

had no experience. For example, a series of docking manoeuvres were undertaken by the pilot boats of

HMNB Portsmouth His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...

to determine the problems of docking a large trimaran, and the ship underwent

underway replenishment Replenishment at sea (RAS) (North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Commonwealth of Nations) or underway replenishment (UNREP) ( U.S. Navy) is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way. First develop ...

alongside and the tanker to ascertain the characteristics of a trimaran and a monohull replenishing at the same time. ''Triton'' also undertook the first helicopter take off and landing on a trimaran.

Gardline Marine Sciences

In January 2005, ''Triton'' was sold to Gardline Marine Sciences, a UK company based in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. ''Triton'' was used for hydrographic survey work for the civil hydrography programme (CHP) on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The vessel was fitted with a sensor suite which includes the Kongsberg Simrad EM1002 multibeam echo-sounder, a GPS attitude/heading system, surface navigation and ultra-short baseline sub-surface acoustic tracking system, Gardline Voyager5 integrated survey system and Caris post-processing system. The vessel was enhanced by Gardline by installing a bowthrust unit, additional accommodation and survey equipment facilities. In 2009, two new MTU engines were fitted; MTU 16v 4000 M40B. Output each.

Australian Customs

In December 2006, Gardline

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to ...

ed ''Triton'' to the

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service was an Australian federal government agency responsible for managing the security and integrity of the Australian border and facilitating the movement of legitimate international travelers and ...

to patrol Australia's northern waters as one of the service's fleet of patrol vessels. Australian Customs Vessel ''Triton'' has been fitted with two .50 calibre heavy machine guns and carries up to 28 armed customs officers. The vessel is also equipped with two high-speed

rigid hull 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 ...

s (RHIBs). The ship arrived from the UK in mid-January 2007 and started operations immediately. Austere accommodation is provided for 100 embarked persons in addition to conventional accommodation for 45.

References