HMC Valiant Underway
HMC Valiant, callsign MBLL8, is seen above passing Calshot Castle on her way up the Solent in 2009.
She was the fourth and last 42m Customs Cutter built by Damen Shipyards in the Netherlands and launched in 2001-2004. The class has a steel hull with aluminium superstructure. At 238 grt, two Caterpillar diesels give her a maximum speed of 26 kt and a maximum range of 3,240 km at 12 kt. She has a normal complement of 12 and a planned endurance of 14 days. A stern slipway is built into the design to allow launching/recovering of a 7m Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB). The 'gun-like' object on the bow is a 2,000-litre/min firefighting system.
Initially operated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), bureaucratic reorganisations have seen the class subsequently under the UK Border Agency and then the UK Border Force in 2013.
HMC Valiant Underway
HMC Valiant, callsign MBLL8, is seen above passing Calshot Castle on her way up the Solent in 2009.
She was the fourth and last 42m Customs Cutter built by Damen Shipyards in the Netherlands and launched in 2001-2004. The class has a steel hull with aluminium superstructure. At 238 grt, two Caterpillar diesels give her a maximum speed of 26 kt and a maximum range of 3,240 km at 12 kt. She has a normal complement of 12 and a planned endurance of 14 days. A stern slipway is built into the design to allow launching/recovering of a 7m Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB). The 'gun-like' object on the bow is a 2,000-litre/min firefighting system.
Initially operated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), bureaucratic reorganisations have seen the class subsequently under the UK Border Agency and then the UK Border Force in 2013.