Warship Visits Scarborough

Friday, 6 January 2023 19:04

By Matthew Pells

HMS Enterprise boldly goes into Scarborough's South Bay

A Royal Navy ship has been spotted near Scarborough today.

HMS Enterprise is a survey vessel, manned by experts in examining and mapping the seafloor. She also acts as a floating base for mine countermeasures activities.

It's not clear what the vessel is doing in Scarborough, it had been in Davenport over the new year weekend and has recently been deployed to the Arctic venturing closer to the North Pole than any other Royal Navy vessel in 2022, sailing within 1,000 miles of the top of the world.

The Devonport-based ship headed into the Arctic to update charts and scientific understanding of waters increasingly patrolled by Royal Navy warships to maintain freedom of navigation of the High North.

After receiving specific training for the mission – which saw crew facing water and air temperatures just above freezing, even at the beginning of autumn – Enterprise made for the Barents Sea off the northern coast of Norway.

Passing 66.56° North crew painted the bull ring on the bow – known as a ‘blue nose’ – a traditional seafaring ceremony to designate a ship has sailed inside the Arctic

Using an array of equipment including single and multi-beam echo sounders, towed sensors and remotely operated bodies to gather hydrographic and oceanographic data, which will benefit scientists, fellow seafarers and Royal Navy operations.

Numerous pictures of the vessel in Scarborough Bay have been shared on social media today.