Royal Navy: HMS Scimitar transformed into MV Lady Jean hospital boat with new engines - in pictures

HMS Scimitar is now known as MV Lady Jean after Gosport engineers carried out the major year-long project. International defence company Babcock International funded the project, with specialists from UK Docks completing the work.

HMS Scimitar used to be a patrol vessel assigned to the Gibraltar Squadron alongside HMS Sabre. After she was brought back to the UK, decommissioned, and sold, she was bought by The Vine Trust charity – an organisation which carried out medical expeditions in Tanzania.

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UK Docks offered discounted rates, free lifting of the vessel and free storage during the conversion which took place on both Victoria and Endeavour Quay. The changes made to the vessel included a new generator, galley with fridges, ovens, sinks, serving areas and an air conditioning unit. Forward accommodation and the ship’s wheelhouse has been converted to suit the needs of a hospital boat.

There was a total redesign of the aft transom with guardrails, boarding steps and boarding platform put in to allow people to access the vessel easier. A new engine was also sought with the vessel’s former engines being obsolete. A two-month European wide search took place, with a new MAN truck engine being found in Holland, The Netherlands.

This was stripped down and rebuilt, with parts from both engines being used for the finished model. MV Lady Jean was formally named at a ceremony in Portsmouth, with her performing a poignant final pass by HMS Sabre. She was then brought to Southampton, before the long trip to Mombasa, Kenya, with the plan for her to act as a medical vessel in Lake Victoria near Tanzania. Here are some pictures of what she looks like.