HMS Charger (P292): Training Liverpool's Future Officers, One River at a Time

HMS Charger (P292)

Built for a University Unit

HMS Charger was built by Watercraft Limited at Shoreham-by-Sea, with fitting out completed by Vosper Thornycroft, launched in 1986 and commissioned in 1988, an Archer-class patrol vessel built specifically as a sea training platform for the Liverpool University Royal Naval Unit. Based at HMS Eaglet in Liverpool, she carries a permanent complement of five full-time Royal Navy crew alongside up to twelve student trainees, giving university officer cadets their first genuine taste of life and responsibility aboard a working naval vessel.

A Baltic Voyage Through Two Canals

In 2011, HMS Charger undertook a substantial Baltic deployment, visiting Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, and in the course of the voyage transited both the Caledonian Canal in Scotland and the Kiel Canal in Germany, a genuinely ambitious itinerary for a small training vessel and an excellent piece of practical seamanship experience for the cadets aboard, exposing them to international waters, foreign ports and complex canal navigation all in a single deployment.

Adopted by Preston, and a First for Northwich

HMS Charger was formally adopted by the city of Preston in 2012, following a series of regular visits that had built up a genuine relationship between the ship and the local community, a tradition the Royal Navy has long maintained with smaller vessels able to visit inland and regional waterways that larger warships simply cannot reach. In 2013, HMS Charger made history by becoming the first Royal Navy vessel of the 21st century to travel up the River Weaver to Northwich in Cheshire, a striking demonstration of exactly the kind of access her small size and shallow draught made possible, bringing the Royal Navy directly to communities that would otherwise never see one of its ships.

Still Training Cadets Today

HMS Charger underwent an engine refit with upgraded components in 2016, keeping her mechanically fit for continued service, and remains in active use today, affiliated with both Maryport in Cumbria and Preston, continuing her core mission of training officer cadets while maintaining the kind of community engagement and regional visibility that ships of her size and role are uniquely positioned to provide.