Ready for the plunge: First Type 31 frigate HMS Venturer leaves Rosyth ahead of float-off
The first new Type 31 frigate being built for the Royal Navy has left the shipyard where she is being constructed for the first time.
HMS Venturer was floated on a submergible barge from Babcock in Rosyth to Leith Docks in Edinburgh, where she will be lowered into the water.
She is the first of five Inspiration Class ships that will replace the Type 23 vessels currently in service.
The ship passed under all three bridges spanning the Forth on her way to Scotland's capital city, where she will enter the water for the first time.
It comes just two weeks after she was taken out of the build hall in Fife, where work has been taking place on her over the last few years.
The 5,700-tonne vessel represents the future, a new general-purpose frigate to meet the demands of today's Royal Navy.
She is to enter service in the next couple of years at the forefront of deterring aggression and maintaining security at sea.
The Type 31 will be equipped with a 57mm gun, plus two 40mm guns, as well as being fitted with the Sea Ceptor missile system.
The ship will have a top speed of 26 knots and a flight deck that can accommodate Merlin and Wildcat helicopters.
Construction of two more Type 31s is already underway at Rosyth with the build of HMS Active and HMS Formidable in progress.
The Royal Navy hopes to have all five of these ships operating at sea by 2030.
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