Royal Navy commissions second of two new Gibraltar-based patrol boats

The Royal Navy commissioned its newest patrol boat in a ceremony in the overseas territory of Gibraltar on Thursday, July 14.

HMS Dagger is the second of two new 19-metre patrol vessels charged with guarding the waters around the territory as part of the Royal Navy’s Gibraltar Squadron.

Dagger and sister vessel HMS Cutlass are the permanent replacements for the now decommissioned HMS Sabre and HMS Scimitar, which operated in defence of Gibraltar’s waters for nearly two decades.

The new patrol boats were designed by naval architects BMT and built by the Marine Specialised Technology Group for use specifically by the Royal Navy’s Gibraltar Squadron. Each boat can reach speeds of up to 40 knots and is armed with three machine guns.