Minehunter HMS Inverness (M102) was the second of the 12 Sandown-class ships to be built by Vosper Thornycroft at their Woolston yard in Southampton.

The 484-ton vessel has a glass-reinforced plastic hull and is propelled by Voith-Schneider vectored thrust units - vertical blades on carousels - and bowthrusters.

Using powerful sonar, HMS Inverness can spot and identify mines, which can then be dealt with by divers or the ship's remote-controlled submersible.

The Sandowns were designed to operate in deep and exposed waters. Inverness was launched on February 27, 1990 and commissioned on January 24 the following year.

She has an operating speed of 13 knots on her two Paxman Valenta diesels, and slows to 6.5 knots on quiet-running electric drive while minehunting.

The ship has an important role to play in the major joint service Exercise Saif Sareea II in Oman throughout October, and will also train on her way back from the Gulf as part of the overarching Exercise Argonaut 2001 maritime task group.

(Ship of the Month May 1995)

Join Ship of the Month and receive a new postcard sized photograph every month!
Each month Navy News looks at a different ship, her compliment, armoury, propulsion and her recent activities. Join the many subscribers who have been collecting Ship of the Month since 1969. more>