Royal Navy considers weighty matters as next-gen frigate HMS Venturer gets on the scales 9th February 2024 at 4:00pm

Jacks lift up the hull of HMS Venturer (Picture: Royal Navy)

The Royal Navy's new frigate, HMS Venturer, has achieved a significant milestone in her construction process - the weigh-in.

Venturer is the first of five Type 31 Inspiration-class frigates and has undergone some precise weighing to validate the weight estimates that were made during her design phase.

Although much of her equipment has yet to be installed, the entire ship was lifted and measured three times to ensure the accuracy of the calculations.

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Prior to the lifting of the ship, naval architects estimated the weight of the Venturer by considering various factors such as the materials used in her construction, equipment, engineering systems, consumables, fuel and the crew.

HMS Venturer, who is longer than 11 London buses, was lifted using 84 power hydraulic jacks while load cells provided precise weight calculations.

This meticulous process ensures that the ship's weight estimations align with her actual construction.

While the weighing process is laboursome, it is essential to enable validation checks at this point of the build.  

Currently, construction of Venturer is underway at Babcock's assembly hall in Rosyth, where she is being built alongside HMS Active, the second ship in the Type 31 programme.

Once completed, Venturer will pave the way for the construction of HMS Active and the third frigate, HMS Formidable.

There will be five Type 31s built. The Inspire-class will replace five general-duties Type 23 frigates.