Firth Of Forth: HMS Forth Visits 'Spiritual Home'

The Royal Navy’s offshore patrol vessel HMS Forth is visiting the Firth of Forth in North Scotland, for the first time.

The Batch 2 vessel is currently docked in Leith to support the Navy during the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Commander Bob Laverty, Captain of HMS Forth said: "It feels very much like our spiritual home.

"We've been putting her through her paces in a material sense but also in an operational sense."

The crew have been conducting sea trials in the Solent and the Isle of Mann, before being deployed around the waters of Gibraltar.

They were recently tasked with shadowing a Russian ship through the Channel.

Able Seaman Craig Pollock, a Seaman Specialist onboard HMS Forth says: "There's been lots of new challenges with it being a new ship and we're still testing the limits".

AB Pollock added: "It's been good seeing it all come together."

Cdr Laverty added: "We've had a period over in Faslane of operational sea training, which has really honed our skills in a warfighting and damage control sense.

"Since then we've been conducting operations around the UK, including fishery protection and maritime security operations."

The patrol vessel is designed to conduct anti-piracy, counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling tasks currently undertaken by frigates and destroyers.

It's armed with a 30-millimetre cannon, two general-purpose machine guns and two miniguns.

Once the crew has finished supporting the Navy at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the ship will head south to replace HMS Clyde as the Royal Navy’s Patrol Vessel in the Falkland Islands.