SD Northern River
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| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | SD Northern River |
| Launched | 18 July 1997 |
| In service | 2012 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Active |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 3,605 GT[1] |
| Length | 92.8 m (304 ft 6 in)[1] |
| Beam | 18.8 m (61 ft 8 in)[1] |
| Draught | 4.9 m (16 ft 1 in)[1] |
| Speed | 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)[1] |
| Complement | 14 crew, can embark military personnel for training or emergency[1] |
| Notes |
|
SD Northern River is a large multi-purpose auxiliary ship operated by Serco Marine Services in support of the United Kingdom's Naval Service and is currently the largest ship operated by Serco Marine Services, both in terms of dimensions and gross tonnage.[1]
Her duties involve target towing during naval training exercises, transport of naval equipment, noise ranging and data gathering, as well as serving as a submarine escort/rescue vessel.[2] SD Northern River can embark the NATO Submarine Rescue System.[1][3]
SD Northern River also reportedly specializes in Special Forces (SF) operations, participating, for instance, in Exercise Chameleon 23-1 off the British Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus in early 2023.[4]
In late 2024, Northern River reportedly replaced RFA Stirling Castle as command ship for mine countermeasures autonomous systems when the latter vessel was laid up for repair and inactive due to a serious manpower shortage in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.[5] In September 2024, Northern River was photographed carrying RNMB Apollo, a Royal Navy autonomous minehunting vessel equipped with Towed Synthetic Aperture Modular Sonar.[6][7] In the latter part of 2024, Northern River went into dry dock for 21 days of maintenance and hull certification work.[8]
In May 2025, Northern River was deployed to the Mediterranean to support training exercises by the Royal Navy's carrier strike group. As part of the exercises, she was reported to have launched Banshee Whirlwind target drones while a team from the British defence technology firm Qinetiq injected synthetic threats into the carrier strike group's command and control picture.[9][10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h Bush, Steve (2014). British Warships and Auxiliaries. Maritime Books. p. 86. ISBN 978-1904459552.
- ^ "Seco's Biggest Support Ship, the Northern River". Westward Shipping News. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ^ "Supporting the fleet – Serco services for the Royal Navy". Navy Lookout. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "UK SF Exercise – Chameleon 23-1". SOF News. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "RFA Fort Victoria to be placed in long-term lay up". Navy Lookout. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
- ^ "Trial sees Royal Navy high tech autonomous mine hunting capability move a step closer". Ministry of Defence. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ @NavyLookout (17 September 2024). "@NavyLookout SD Northern River inbound to Devonport this morning carrying RNBM Apollo (Autonomous Minehunting boat with Towed Synthetic Aperture Modular Sonar)" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 September 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ @NavyLookout (8 December 2024). "@NavyLookout Naval support vessel, SD Northern River emerged from 21 days in dry dock in Leith on Friday - following maintenance and hull certification work" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 December 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ @NavyLookout (11 June 2025). "@NavyLookout SD Northern River alongside in Gibraltar. She was employed to support the recent #CSG25 exercise Med Strike off Sicily" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 June 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ Taylor, Dan (11 June 2025). "Counter-drone training provided to Royal Navy by Qinetiq during exercise". Military Embedded Systems. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
External links
[edit]
Media related to IMO 9179323 at Wikimedia Commons
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