#RiverClass – Making a call to Dublin Port today is a UK Royal Navy ‘River’ patrol class vessel that is to remain in the capital for a three-day visit, writes Jehan Ashmore.

HMS Severn is one of the River class quartet and represents the second built by Vosper Thornycroft at their Woolston yard. The patrol ship is deployed up to 200 miles offshore in the Atlantic. This is to ensure that fishing boats and trawlers stick to UK and EU fisheries laws.

The OPV can also be used from fire-fighting to disaster relief operations.

Likewise of two of her sisters HMS Tyne and HMS Mersey each have a crew of about 45 sailors. The crew work at least 275 days a year at sea to enforce internationally agreed fishing qoutas.

The River class have a 5,500 nautical mile range and have a speed of 20 knots. They are equipped with two gun weapons systems.

As for the final unit of the quartet, HMS Clyde operates around the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.