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Eureka! Archimedes’ engineers help ready HMS Stirling Castle for front-line service
29 October 2025
A small team of specialist engineers helped shipmates regenerate the Navy’s new minehunting mother ship.
The engineers from Portsmouth’s Forward Support Unit Archimedes conducted some of the final crucial checks, tweaks and work on HMS Stirling Castle before the revitalised ship sailed.
As the name Forward Support Unit suggests, naval engineers travel wherever necessary to bolster – or relieve – a ship’s engineering department during maintenance periods, freeing the latter up for other duties (or leave), spreading the workload and ensuring vessels return to sea ready for renewed operations.
That could be the Bahamas, Bahrain (there’s a permanent FSU team at the UK Naval Support Facility), or Birkenhead, which is where Stirling Castle underwent her regeneration following her transfer from the RFA to the Royal Navy back in the spring.
The ship left Merseyside last week and has been conducting trials and training around the UK before she arrives in her future home base of Portsmouth under the White Ensign for the first time.
Stirling Castle is a substantial ship (6,000 tonnes) but with a smallish crew (55) and a lot of kit installed.
Half a dozen marine engineers from FSU Archimedes headed up the M6/M62 and set to task on the freshwater and ballast systems initially.
The systems demanded comprehensive inspections, strainer cleans and functional checks. Thanks to their diligence and teamwork, both systems were brought up to the required standard within the expected timeframe.
The Archimedes team then turned their hands to critical safety equipment, in particularly firefighting systems, breathing apparatus and fixed defects to ensure all gear was fully serviceable and available for immediate use at sea.
Before returning home, the Portsmouth engineers completed a thorough set of rounds, ensuring HMS Stirling Castle met the highest readiness criteria and, in spite of the demanding schedule, there was still time to enjoy the sights and culture of Liverpool from the City’s famous waterfront and partake in its lively music scene.
“The deployment of Forward Support Unit Archimedes to HMS Stirling Castle exemplifies the professionalism and agility of our Portsmouth-based engineers,” said the Officer in Charge of FSU Archimedes, Lieutenant Will Souza.
“Their swift and thorough work across critical systems ensured the Ship was ready to meet operational demands without delay. From freshwater and ballast systems to firefighting and breathing apparatus, their efforts directly contributed to Stirling Castle’s readiness and safety.”
Pictures: Jazmin Dawson