Royal Navy minehunter HMS Blyth will visit Oban this weekend.
The ship is in town from Friday until Monday and will be open to the public on Saturday from 10am-4pm when she will be berthed at the North Pier.
The visit will follow today’s (thur) fly past by Royal Navy Search and Rescue (SAR) Flight HMS Gannet.
The Sea King helicopters handed the rescue baton to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency contractor Bristow Helicopters on January 1.
Two helicopters were due fly over some of the areas which have seen the most rescues. They were expected in Oban at 12.40pm and Lochaber at 11.40am.
HMS Blyth returned home to the Clyde and to frontline service with the Royal Navy last month after an extensive refit at Rosyth.
The refit began at Rosyth dockyard in April last year and for the past seven months Blyth has undergone an extensive upgrade package designed to prepare her for operations around the globe.
The work, which was undertaken by Babcock, has seen the ship receive 15 specific capability upgrades and modifications, including the installation of three new diesel generators.
Other work included the complete renewal of her hull’s outer paint and improvements made to the crew’s living areas.
Since returning to sea, Commanding Officer of HMS Blyth, Lieutenant Commander Matt Sykes, and his crew have been putting the ship through her paces during sea trials.
He said: “The refit and the sea trials have gone well. It’s great to have HMS Blyth back, in ship-shape, and ready for action.
“HMS Blyth and her Faslane based sisters are some of the most capable minehunters in the world, operated by the best trained crews anywhere. I am enormously proud of the effort my sailors have made over the last few months getting us back to our home port. Next up is some training time, so we can get back to our main job of keeping the world’s vital trade routes safe from the threat of sea mines.”