South Atlantic sister swap: HMS Medway takes over Falklands guardianship role from HMS Forth

HMS Medway has taken over from HMS Forth as the Royal Navy's permanent patrol vessel in the Falkland Islands and the wider South Atlantic. 

The handover sees one Batch 2 River-class sister ship replacing the other after HMS Forth's long stint based at East Cove Military Port. 

HMS Forth is now heading back to the UK for the first time in more than five years.

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HMS Medway is taking on the South Atlantic patrol role after spending most of her active service deployed to the Caribbean.

This is not HMS Medway’s first time operating in the region. She temporarily took on the Falklands patrol ship duties in 2023 while HMS Forth underwent a refit in Gibraltar.

HMS Forth's half a decade in the South Atlantic

The Royal Navy says HMS Forth has completed 155,000 nautical miles of patrols since arriving in 2020, the equivalent of more than seven times around the globe, operating from the East Cove military port near Mount Pleasant.

Most of that time was spent around the Falklands archipelago on fishery protection and wider maritime security tasks.

The ship also ranged further afield to South Georgia, delivered Covid vaccines to Tristan da Cunha in 2021, and represented the UK during Exercise Unitas off Rio in 2022.

HMS Forth launched her sea boat 250 times during the deployment, with roughly a third of the ship’s company rotated every seven and a half weeks – 42 personnel changes in total, according to the Royal Navy.

How do the sisters compare?

HMS Medway and HMS Forth are both Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels, with broadly similar design and kit, so the change is more about a fresh vessel and crew taking over the tasking than a shift in capability.

Both are 90-metre OPVs designed for long patrols, with a range of about 5,500 nautical miles and a top speed of around 24 knots. 

Each has a flight deck capable of hosting a Wildcat or Merlin helicopter and is armed with a 30mm cannon.

The class is designed to run with a core crew of 36, but the Royal Navy has said the ships are intended to deploy with 58 on board, with space for 70 when needed.

Both ships are named after UK rivers. HMS Forth was named after the River Forth in Scotland, while HMS Medway is named after the River Medway in Kent, an area with longstanding Royal Navy links through Chatham Historic Dockyard.

There have been two generations of River Class OPV. 

HMS Tyne, Severn and Mersey belong to the first, operating since the early 2000s. 

They were followed from 2017 by the newer Batch 2 vessels, HMS Forth, Medway, Trent, Tamar and Spey, which are larger and faster.