HMS Portisham was one of 93 ships of the Ham-class of inshore minesweepers.

HMS Portisham at Portsmouth Navy Day, 1980.
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Portisham
NamesakePortisham
BuilderDorset Yacht Co.
Launched3 November 1955
Completed26 March 1956
HomeportBalbriggan
IdentificationPortisham
FateSold January 1989, currently in private ownership.
General characteristics
Class and typeHam-class minesweeper
Displacement120 tons sd
Beam21.5ft
PropulsionOriginally, Paxman 12YHAXM, now Scania DS9 & Cummins L10
Speed14 kts
RangeTBD
Complement2 - 6
NotesPennant number(s): M2781 / IMS81

Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Portesham in Dorset, using an alternative spelling for the village.

Portisham served in the Royal Navy from 1956 until 1964, when she was transferred to the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS).

On 15 April 1973, Portisham assisted a Royal Dutch Navy Breguet Atlantic aircraft no 257 which ditched off Wassenaar, Netherlands.

Portisham was removed from service in 1983. After her sale in 1989 she was laid up and for sale in a boatyard in Essex. She was procured for conversion to a liveaboard ship by an Irish national in 2007 and is currently the second biggest private vessel under the Irish flag.

Portisham as a liveaboard in Balbriggan, 2012.

References

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