RVTriton

For other ships with the same name, seeHMS Triton.

RVTritonberthed alongsideHMSBelfastin thePool of London
History
United Kingdom
Name	RVTriton
Namesake	Triton
Ordered	August 1998
Builder	VT Group
Cost	Circa £20m (incl. £13.5m from VT)
Launched	6 May 2000
Acquired	August 2000
Fate	Sold toGardline Marine Sciences,2005 Leased toAustralian Customs and Border Protection Service,December 2006, sold 2015 and laid up in UK.
Status	As of 15/2/22 she is currently moored in Hull behind the Siemens Windfarm Blade factory.
Australia
Name	ACVTriton
Acquired	December 2006
Decommissioned	2015
In service	2006–2015
Identification	IMO number:4906551 MMSI number:235114368 Callsign:2JAU7
Fate	Sold and returned to UK
Status	Laid up as of 2017
General characteristics
Tonnage	2,236GT
Length	318 ft 3 in (97.00 m)
Beam	73 ft 8 in (22.45 m)
Draught	10 ft (3.0 m)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric propulsion, single shaft
Speed	20knots(37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range	3,000nmi(5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	14 crew and up to 28 customs officers (Australian service)
Armament	2 ×.50 calibre heavy machine guns(Australian service)

TheResearch VesselTritonis atrimaranvessel owned byGardline Marine Sciences Limitedand a former prototype British warshipdemonstratorfor the UK'sDefence Evaluation and Research Agency(laterQinetiQ). She was built as a technology demonstrator ship for the Royal Navy'sFuture Surface Combatant,and has been used to both prove the viability of the hull-form and as a trials platform for other QinetiQ innovations.The ship was used by theAustralian Border Force'sMarine Unit,and was for a time moored in theRiver Falnear theKing Harry chain ferry.Up until July 2019 she was moored on theRiver Yare,Great YarmouthinNorfolk,England.

Construction

In August 1998, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded a contract to Vosper Thornycroft to construct the trimaran, at a cost of £13.5mRVTritonwas launched at Woolston in May 2000 and delivered in August 2000.Tritonthen began a two-year risk reduction trials programme for the UK MoD and the US Department of Defense.

The vessel's three parallelhullsare reflected in her name which refers to themaritime god Tritonwho carried the three-pronged spear, the trident. Theoutriggersare thinner and much shorter than the dominant central hull.

Operational history

DERA and QinetiQ

QinetiQ RVTriton

Tritonwas designed as a demonstrator to prove that the trimaran concept would work successfully in a large warship. Following her launch in 2000, the ship began an extensive series of trials in 2001, which covered general ship handling, performance, sea-keeping behaviour, but also areas more specific to its design for which theRoyal Navyhad no experience. For example, a series of docking manoeuvres were undertaken by the pilot boats ofHMNB Portsmouthto determine the problems of docking a large trimaran, and the ship underwentunderway replenishmentalongsideHMSArgylland the tankerRFABrambleleafto ascertain the characteristics of a trimaran and a monohull replenishing at the same time.Tritonalso undertook the first helicopter take off and landing on a trimaran.

Gardline Marine Sciences

In January 2005,Tritonwas sold to Gardline Marine Sciences, a UK company based in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.Tritonwas used for hydrographic survey work for the civil hydrography programme (CHP) on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The vessel was fitted with a sensor suite which includes the Kongsberg Simrad EM1002 multibeam echo-sounder, a GPS attitude/heading system, surface navigation and ultra-short baseline sub-surface acoustic tracking system, Gardline Voyager5 integrated survey system and Caris post-processing system. The vessel was enhanced by Gardline by installing a bowthrust unit, additional accommodation and survey equipment facilities. In 2009, two new MTU engines were fitted; MTU 16v 4000 M40B. Output 2,080 kW (2,790 hp) each.

Australian Customs

Tritonin 2007

In December 2006, GardlinecontractedTritonto theAustralian Customs and Border Protection Serviceto patrolAustralia's northern waters as one of theservice's fleet of patrol vessels.Australian Customs VesselTritonhas been fitted with two.50 calibre heavy machine gunsand carries up to 28 armed customs officers. The vessel is also equipped with two 7.3 m (24 ft) high-speedrigid hull inflatable boats(RHIBs). The ship arrived from the UK in mid-January 2007 and started operations immediately. Austere accommodation is provided for 100 embarked persons in addition to conventional accommodation for 45.

See also

• List of multihulls