Magpie ready to resume survey work after winter revamp

It’s British pie week, so here’s great news about the Navy’s favourite pie… Magpie.

After a hectic first 18 months of port survey work – notably around Barrow, where the nation’s nuclear submarines are built, and Portsmouth Harbour to ensure the specially-created channel for the two new aircraft carriers hadn’t silted up – the 37-tonne craft crossed the Tamar and was handed over to UK Docks Marine Services – Mashfords in Cremyll (within sight of Devonport’s South Yard) for her annual service and repair.

The time out of the water on the slipway has allowed shipwrights and Magpie’s dozen crew access to her hull to give it a thorough clean. This most comprehensive maintenance period since commissioning allowed a number of updates to be carried out to her systems and modifications to her endurance and living/working conditions.

Magpie is the Navy’s newest, and smallest, survey vessel, permanently assigned to inshore work – gathering data for the UK Hydrographic Office in Taunton on key civilian and military ports around Britain to ensure the safety of all mariners.

Once post-revamp training is complete, Magpie will spend the bulk of the spring and summer working along England’s south coast, hopefully fitting in a visit to her affiliated town of Salcombe in Devon along the way.