This warship belonging to the British Navy is unique and had become a trending topic in mid-2021. Not because of the weapon system it carries, the Offshore Patrol Vesssel (OPV) type, namely HMS Tamar and HMS Spey, whose debut was crowded when there was tension at sea. South China, where the two OPVs were assigned by the British Empire, with a semi-permanent placement in the Indo Pacific region for five years.
The presence of the British fleet for five years in the disputed area with China, seems to be a 'ridicule' for Beijing, because the British Navy has actually placed a medium-tonnage OPV type with patrol boat class weapons to 'confront' the domination of Chinese power.
Meanwhile, both HMS Tamar and HMS Spey, in accordance with their mandates, operate wara-wiri patrolling hot spots around the South China Sea.
And after more than a year serving in the Indo Pacific, one of the OPV River Class is reported to be visiting Indonesia. To be precise, His Majesty's Ship (HMS) Spey (P234) docked at Benoa Harbor, Bali, on Friday (30/9).
The unique thing about the HMS Spey is that the crew is 20 percent women. One of them was Executive Officer Lieutenant Commander Bridget Macnae, who led the ship's arrival to Bali. The plan is that HMS Spey will be in Bali until October 3, 2022.
What's interesting about the HMS Spey is called an environmentally friendly ship or a green ship. The reason is that the ship is fitted with a catalytic converter (catalytic converter) in the absorption funnel so as to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Both HMS Tamar and HMS Spey are present in the Indo Pacific essentially to carry out security patrols, specifically dealing with drug trafficking, smuggling, terrorism and other illegal activities as well as joining exercises with other armed forces, and waging the “Global Britain” campaign.
Speaking of weapons, there is nothing 'scary' from the OPV River Class, this warship relies on the 30 mm caliber DS30B cannon embedded in the bridge, then there are two 12.7 mm caliber heavy machine gun mounts and 2 medium machine gun mounts.
Although the weapons are limited, this OPV has a helipad deck that is quite large, which is capable of landing a medium-sized transport helicopter of the Merlin class.
The OPV River Class weighs 2,000 tons, is 90.5 meters long and 13 meters wide. Powered by a 2 × MAN 16V28/33D diesel engine, the River Class has a speed of 28 knots and can sail as far as 10,200 km.
Manned by 34 personnel, this OPV still has the capacity to carry an additional 70 passengers. In terms of endurance, apparently this ship is quite topnotch, which can sail continuously for 35 days.
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