The Duke of Edinburgh joined the crew of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s newest ship to officially welcome her into the service.
A service of dedication was held on board RFA Stirling Castle while she was alongside in Leith Docks, Edinburgh.
The vessel previously operated as an oil rig support vessel, but will now operate as a mothership for the Royal Navy’s new autonomous mine countermeasures systems.
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RFA Stirling Castle will work with the Mine and Threat Exploitation Group (MTXG) to help counter the evolving threat of naval mines.
She will be used to transport and launch autonomous uncrewed boats which will scan the sea for mines.
Head of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Commodore David Eagles, said: “She will be the mothership for the emergent uncrewed autonomous mine-hunting capabilities.
“So traditionally to deal with the sea mine threat we put crewed ships into the danger zone where clearly there is an exposed risk to personnel and shipping.
“The Navy is investing heavily in very modern and sophisticated systems.
“We are at the cutting edge on Stirling Castle as we act as a host platform for these systems in both operations and trialling.
“As the technology evolves and the ability to go to greater depths and greater ranges evolves [we] will be at the forefront to do that work.”
RFA Stirling Castle is latest vessel to join the fleet of 11 platforms providing support to Royal Navy ships all over the world.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who is Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, met members of the ship’s crew during a tour of the vessel after the service.
Commanding Officer Captain Duncan Vernoum said: “This is an opportunity for the ship’s company to celebrate the hard work they put in, not just for today, but getting the ship to this stage.
“A lot of training has gone into making sure the ship is capable and ready to go.
“There’s still some more work to do, but this is an opportunity for us to bring the RFA family together and celebrate not just the hard work that’s been done, but obviously Stirling Castle entering into the RFA flotilla formally.”
RFA Stirling Castle will replace the Royal Navy’s Sandown-class minehunter fleet and will join the MTXG for more trials to understand how the ship’s technology can be used to enhance operations in and around the UK.