HMS Venturer is a Venturer-class minesweeper converted from the trawler Suffolk Harvester for the Royal Navy in 1978.

HMS Venturer at Bristol Harbor in 1979
History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Venturer
BuilderCubow of Woolwich
Launched1973
CommissionedDecember 1978
DecommissionedNovember 1983
Renamed
  • Suffolk Harvester (1972)
  • HMS Venturer (1978)
  • Suffolk Harvester (1983)
  • Britannia Harvester (1990)
  • VOS Harvester (2009)
  • BPOS Harvester (2011)
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics
Class and typeVenturer-class minesweeper
TypeTrawler, minesweeper, standby safety vessel
Length120 ft (37 m)
Beam29.2 ft (8.9 m)
Draught12.8 ft (3.9 m)
Installed power2000 HP
Propulsion2x Diesel Engine
Speed14 knots
Complement35
ArmamentNone

Description

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Venturer is 120 ft (37 m) long, 29.2 ft (8.9 m) wide, and 12.8 ft (3.9 m) tall. It has a gross tonnage of 433 GT.[1] It is powered by Mirrlees-Blackstone diesel engines which provided 2,000 HP and allowed for a speed of 14 knots. As a minesweeper, Venturer was not equipped with any armament and had a crew of thirty-five.[2]

History

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The ship was built as Suffolk Harvester by Cubow of Woolwich in 1972 as a stern fishing trawler and was sold to Small & Co as the most advanced new ship in its fleet. Harvester was then chartered as HMS Venturer by the Ministry of Defence on 1 November 1978, alongside its sister ship HMS St David. It was converted into a minesweeper at Lowestoft and commissioned in Bristol in December 1978. Venturer was allocated to the 10th Mine Countermeasures Squadron out of Bristol and was equipped for deep team minesweeping.[2]

On completion of its charter, Venturer was returned to civilian service in November 1983 and renamed back to Suffolk Harvester. In 1990, the ship transferred ownership and was renamed Britannia Harvester. It was renamed again to VOS Harvester in 2009, and finally to BPOS Harvester in 2011.[3] In May 2020, the vessel was temporarily laid up at Lowestoft following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] As of 2022, the vessel was flying the flag of Djibouti and operating as a standby safety vessel.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Ship VENTURER (Standby Safety Vessel) Registered in Djibouti - Vessel details, Current position and Voyage information - IMO 7210848, MMSI 621819056, Call Sign J2J0". MarineTraffic.com. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  2. ^ a b Worth, Jack (1992). British warships since 1945. Maritime. p. 122.
  3. ^ "M08 HMS VENTURER | Flying Fox Association". Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  4. ^ "Nautilus dismay at NSGS compulsory redundancies". www.nautilusint.org. Retrieved 2023-02-09.