Royal Navy names new offshore patrol vessel

March 9 (UPI) -- Britain's Royal Navy has officially named the first ship in the second batch of updated River-class offshore patrol vessels from BAE Systems.

HMS Forth is about 295 feet long and displaces 2,204 tons of water. It has a top speed of about 24 knots and is equipped with a 30mm cannon and a helicopter flight deck.

The ship was named Thursday at a BAE Systems shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland.

"As part of a sustained program delivering world-class ships and submarines, HMS Forth's naming is a vitally important part of the government's 10-year... plan to provide our armed forces with the equipment they need," British Minister for Procurement Harriett Baldwin said in a press release.

"HMS Forth, part of the updated River-lass of Offshore Patrol Vessels, is one of the most advanced ships of its type and will provide the Royal Navy with the means to undertake vital operations safely and effectively," Vice Adm. Simon Lister, chief of Materiel for the Ministry of Defense's Equipment and Support organization, said in a press release.

"The naming is a significant milestone in the life of HMS Forth and in the wider Offshore Patrol Vessel program, which is well on track to deliver all five of the new (Batch 2) ships by the end of 2019," Lister said.