News / Scotland

Royal Navy’s newest warship takes to water for first time in Scotland

HMS Venturer made its debut on the River Forth after four years of construction.

Royal Navy’s newest warship takes to water for first time in Scotland — HMS Venturer Peter Devlin

PA Media

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UK Government

The Royal Navy’s newest warship has taken to the water for the time time.

HMS Venturer made its debut on the River Forth after four years of construction.

It is one of five Type 31 frigates that will patrol the oceans this century.

It was towed beneath the three Forth Crossings on Saturday evening to complete its construction in Rosyth.

<em>HMS Venturer is one of five Type 31 frigates that will patrol the oceans this century</em>.”/><cite class=cite>Peter Devlin</cite></div><figcaption aria-hidden=true><em>HMS Venturer is one of five Type 31 frigates that will patrol the oceans this century</em>. <cite class=hidden>Peter Devlin</cite></figcaption></figure><p>Some of the crew, shipwrights and engineers from Babcock International Group – who have worked on the ship – were on board for the 11-mile journey up the estuary.</p><p>The vessel emerged from the assembly hall last month on a gigantic low-loader before being loaded onto a special partly submersible barge.</p><p>Since then, experts at Babcock have been waiting for a suitable tidal window in the Forth estuary to allow the ship to be precisely floated off.</p><p>That operation began on Monday, when the barge supporting the warship left Rosyth and sailed to deeper waters.</p><p>Members of the new ship’s crew worked with Babcock staff to ensure HMS Venturer successfully lifted off the barge safely.</p><p>Once tugs were attached, the frigate was towed back up river on her maiden voyage with Venturer’s senior naval officer, commander Chris Cozens.</p><p>“Getting Venturer’s feet wet is not just a showpiece, it is the culmination of the structural stage of build before the rest of the fit out and commissioning completes,” he said.</p><p>“It has been impressive to see the pride and teamwork in the industrial staff, MoD and Royal Navy.</p><p>“There is a single aim to make Type 31 the best it can be and fit to be a Next Generation Frigate, delivering maritime security and humanitarian disaster relief around the world.”</p><p>Once back at Rosyth, Venturer was manoeuvred into an inner base in the dockyard to allow Babcock and contractors to complete fitting out the frigate and begin commissioning its many systems and sensors as the vessel is prepared for her first sea trials.</p><p>Sir Nick Hine, chief executive of Babcock’s Marine Sector, said: “In a complex and uncertain world, our ability to design, build and support advanced warships in the UK is more important than ever.</p><figure class=wp-block-image><div class=relative><img loading=lazy decoding=async src=https://prod.news.stv.tv/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/847e59b38daad9da61a205b60d28844c-1750002957.jpg width=1920 height=1222 srcset=

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