Royal Navy Frigate HMS Northumberland to Arrive in Boston Saturday, Nov. 16

The Royal Navy’s HMS Northumberland will sail into Boston on Saturday, November 16 with her ship’s company lining the upper deck in full ceremonial uniforms for a week-long visit at the Charlestown Navy Yard where it will be docked alongside the USS Constitution.

HMS Northumberland is one of the Royal Navy’s 13 Type 23 frigates, originally designed to deal with the Soviet submarine threat.

While docked at the Charlestown Navy Yard, HMS Northumberland will be open to visitors. Follow the British Consulate (@UKinBoston) on Twitter and the National Parks of Boston at www.nps.gov/bost for more information on exact dates and times the ship will be open to the public.

“It is an honor to welcome HMS Northumberland and her crew to the navy yard and support the long standing friendship and diplomacy between Great Britain and the United States,” said National Parks of Boston Superintendent, Michael Creasey. “Charlestown Navy Yard has an extensive maritime history and the National Parks of Boston’s Visiting Ships Program provides the opportunity to explore this history and at the same time experience the navy yard as an active port.”

HMS Northumberland carries 190 sailors on board, and is equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and missile systems designed to protect the ship and wider Royal Navy fleet from attack.

As a high-readiness unit, HMS Northumberland may be called upon at any time to help prevent arms trafficking, people smuggling, conduct counter-terrorism operations, maritime search and rescue, or escort duties. She is equipped with a Merlin helicopter of Culdrose-based 814 Naval Air Squadron, state-of-the-art radar and the Royal Navy’s new Sea Ceptor missile system.

While in Boston the ship will host a range of local events on board including a lunch and evening reception with local representatives. Commander Ally Pollard said about the visit:

“This has been a particularly intense period of work for HMS Northumberland. It is always a privilege for us in the Royal Navy to come in to a US port, particularly one with such a rich maritime history as Boston, which will undoubtedly provide us such a warm welcome. The ship has had an extremely busy few months at sea and it is testament to the fantastic crew and all their hard work that our deployment so far has been a real success.”

Following the visit to Boston, HMS Northumberland will return to the UK Carrier Strike Group to continue her WESTLANT19 deployment alongside HMS Queen Elizabeth; the UK’s aircraft carrier will spend the rest of the Fall conducting training with UK F-35 Lightning stealth fighter jets off the east coast of the USA before returning to Portsmouth later in the year.