HMS Shetland (P298): The Trawler-Hulled Guardian of Britain's Fishing Grounds

Built Like a Trawler, on Purpose

HMS Shetland was built by Hall, Russell & Company at Aberdeen, launched on 22 October 1976 and commissioned on 14 July 1977, one of the Royal Navy's Island-class offshore patrol vessels. The class was deliberately modelled on the ocean-going fishery protection vessels Jura and Westra, giving these ships a modified trawler hull that made them exceptionally seaworthy in exactly the rough waters they were built to patrol.

Backbone of the Fishery Protection Squadron

Shetland formed part of the backbone of the Fishery Protection Squadron, patrolling British waters and the newly established two-hundred-mile fishing limit, and taking on oil and gas platform protection duties around the British Isles and occasionally further afield around Gibraltar. It was unglamorous, essential work, the kind that rarely makes headlines but quietly underpinned Britain's ability to enforce its own maritime boundaries through the late twentieth century.

A Quarter Century on Patrol

For twenty-five years, Shetland carried out this steady, demanding patrol work as part of a class that came to define the Royal Navy's approach to fishery protection during the period, her rugged hull and modest size proving well suited to the task she had been purpose-built for.

A New Flag in Bangladesh

Shetland was sold to Bangladesh in 2002 and renamed BNS Kapatakhaya, one of several Island-class vessels transferred to the Bangladesh Navy as the Royal Navy moved to replace the class with newer River-class patrol ships by 2004. Under her new name and flag, she continued in active service, including joint exercises with her former parent navy, a fitting second life for a ship built to spend her days quietly watching over someone else's waters.

A Working Ship, Twice Over

HMS Shetland's career reflects the unglamorous but genuinely vital role fishery protection vessels played in Britain's maritime life, and her continued service under the Bangladesh Navy's flag is a reminder that a well-built patrol ship's working life rarely ends when the original owner is done with her.