Visit to HMS Somerset

20 June 2016 - Staff and students from the NAFC Marine Centre UHI visited HMS Somerset on Saturday, during her visit to Lerwick Harbour.

HMS Somerset is a Type 23 frigate which carries out a range of duties, including anti-submarine warfare and escorting foreign vessels around the UK coast, although she is equipped to carry out numerous different tasks.

The visitors, which included both deck and engineering cadets as well as Jim Ratter from the local branch of the Nautical Institute, had an interesting and very comprehensive tour around the ship including looking at the bridge, engine room, operations room and its Merlin helicopter. The students found this to be an informative and useful insight into how naval vessels operate, and how other seafarers approach the task of running a ship.

Everybody appreciated the opportunity afforded by the captain, officers and crew of the Somerset for them to visit the ship and the guides from the engineering team, who took time out of their visit to Shetland to show them around their ship.