HMS Somerset (F82)

HMS Somerset is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She is the eleventh ship of the class to join the fleet since 1989. She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd on the River Clyde, in Scotland and was launched in June 1994 by Lady Elspeth Layard, wife of then 2nd Sea Lord Admiral and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command Admiral Sir Michael Layard. She entered service in 1996. Lady Layard is the ship's sponsor. She is named after the Dukedom of Somerset.

The fourth Somerset to serve in the Royal Navy, she has inherited four battle honours from previous ships of the name; Vigo Bay (1702), Velez Malaga (1704), Louisburg (1758) and Quebec (1759). The previous ships all served during the 18th century and ensured that the name Somerset played a significant part in that period of naval history.

Somerset's home port is HMNB Devonport. The ship has the Freedom of the City of Wells and is also affiliated with the County of Somerset, the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, the 2nd and 4th Battalions of The Rifles (inherited from affiliation with the Royal Green Jackets), TS Weston and TS Queen Elizabeth Sea Cadet Units, Downside, Baytree and Helles Schools, Bridgwater College and the Somerset Legion House of The Royal British Legion. The 19th Duke of Somerset takes a keen interest in the ship and is a regular visitor, and the ship also hosted Harry Patch, Simon Weston (in place of Johnson Beharry) and Marcus Trescothick whilst docked at Avonmouth for a remembrance service to launch the 2008 British Legion Poppy Appeal.

1996–2000
On 2 November 1999, Somerset returned briefly to Sierra Leone to stand by for a possible evacuation of British nationals during a breakdown in the peace talks, though after several days of the talks resumed and Somerset was withdrawn.

2001–2010
In 2007, the first at-sea firing trials of the UK Royal Navy's new 30mm DS30M Mark 2 Automated Small Calibre Gun system were completed by Somerset.

On 18 February 2009, Somerset sailed from Devonport as part of the Taurus 09 deployment under Commander UK Amphibious Task Group, Commodore Peter Hudson. She was joined on this deployment by landing platform dock HMS Bulwark (L15) as Hudson's flagship, landing platform helicopter HMS Ocean (L12), Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll (F231) and four ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. In June 2009, she took part in exercise Bersama Shield with Ocean and RFAUX Wave Ruler (A390) off the Malay Peninsula.

In May 2010 she sailed for Operation Telic, conducting boarding operations and oil platform protection operations in the Persian Gulf.

2011–2021
On 3 May 2012, she began a refit at the Devonport Royal Dockyard operated by the Babcock International Group. The refit was expected to take nine months. She took part in Exercise Joint Warrior 2013. In January 2015, Somerset took part in the search for the crew of the Cyprus-registered cement carrier MV Cemfjord, which had capsized in the Pentland Firth.

On 23 April 2015, with the Border Force cutter HMC Valiant, she intercepted the Tanzanian-registered tug Hamal in the North Sea about 100 mi off Aberdeen, leading to the seizure of more than three tons of cocaine, believed to be at the time the single largest seizure of a Class A drug in the UK. In Autumn 2015, she carried out security patrols in support of the European Heads of Government meeting in Malta. In November 2015, Somerset visited Valencia - the first Royal Navy ship to do so in a number of years. While there, she met a delegation led by Juan Carlos Valderrama Zurián, the Central Government Representative for the Valencia region, and hosted a lunch to thank representatives of various Armed Forces charities for their work. In December 2015, she returned to port after performing guard duties at the 2015 CHOGM.

In March 2016, as the RUSSIAN DESTROYER Vice-Admiral Kulakov, a tanker and a tug entered the United Kingdom's exclusive economic zone, they were intercepted and escorted by Somerset. Somerset was again tasked with escorting a Russian vessel in May 2017 when she monitored the Kilo-class submarine Krasnodar as it transited the English Channel. Somerset was awarded the 'Fleet Frigate Effectiveness Trophy' for 2017. A Royal Navy press release said; "HMS Somerset has been awarded the accolade for being the most successful and versatile of all of the Royal Navy’s frigates, which are widely considered to be the workhorses of the fleet."

Somerset began a major upgrade in November 2018 and officially returned to service in March 2022.

2022–present
In August 2022, it was reported that the ship had suffered a "major systems failure" and had to be tied up in Rosyth for investigation and potential repair. However, pursuant to repairs, the frigate was then reported to have returned to sea later the same evening.

In 2022, Somerset spent 52 days at sea.

In January 2023, work began on installing Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) on Somerset to replace the Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Somerset was to be the first Royal Navy ship to be fitted with Naval Strike Missiles and the removal of the obsolete Harpoon racks and blast deflectors was completed in January 2023. However, reported "persistent defects" in the ship since she emerged from refit in 2022 forced her back into dry dock on three occasions. As of September 2023, she was again in dry dock with the planned fitting of NSM and the testing of other key systems delayed. The ship was reported to have returned to sea in October. In December, HMS Somerset became the first Royal Navy warship to go to sea with NSM. She reportedely suffered a further breakdown in February 2024 delaying both her return to active operations as well as the testing of NSM for deployment with the Royal Navy.

Affiliations

 * Duchy of Somerset
 * The Rifles
 * Wells, Somerset
 * Worshipful Society of Apothecaries
 * Somerset County Council
 * Downside School CCF, Somerset