According to information published by VietnamNet on February 12, 2023, a Vietnamese Navy's Ex Hamilton-class cutter and the Royal Navy's River class offshore patrol vessel HMS Spey conducted a joint exercise on the waters of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.
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River class OPV HMS Spey. (Picture source: UK FCO)
HMS Spey is a Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel of the Royal Navy. She is named after the River Spey in Scotland and is the eighth ship in the Royal Navy to bear this name.
HMS Tamar and HMS Spey were commissioned into the Royal Navy in June 2021 and were forward deployed to the Indo-Pacific region in September 2021. They are expected to stay in the region for at least 5 years and could stay for up to 10 years.
The vessel has a displacement of 2,000 tonnes and a length of 90.5 meters. The vessel has a beam of 13 meters and a draft of 3.8 meters, allowing it to reach speeds of 25 knots. Its range is 5,500 nautical miles, and its endurance is 35 days.
HMS Spey is equipped with two rigid-hull inflatable boats and can accommodate up to 50 troops. The crew size is between 34-45 people. The vessel is armed with a 30 mm DS30B gun, 4 general purpose machine guns, 2 miniguns, and 2 Browning .50 caliber machine guns. Additionally, the vessel has a flight deck that is capable of supporting Merlin aircraft.
