BNS Kapatakhaya

BNS Kapatakhaya is an Island Class Offshore patrol vessel of the Bangladeshi Navy, built as the Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel, HMS Shetland (P298).

History
The vessel was laid down in 1975 by Hall, Russell & Company in Aberdeen. Modelled on the ocean-going trawlers, FPV Jura (1973) and FPV Westra (1974), HMS Shetland was launched on 22 October 1976.

Shetland became a temporary Royal Yacht when Prince Charles' helicopter was grounded by fog during a royal visit to the Isles of Scilly, transporting him to Penzance.

In 1992, Shetland seized cocaine with a street value of £30 million from a British-registered oil rig support vessel, 170 mi east of Newcastle. In 1978, Shetland saved the trawler Random Harvest, on fire in the North Sea.

Once decommissioned by the Royal Navy, Shetland was sold to Bangladesh's Navy in 2003/04, along with 4 other ships of the same class to protect the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in Bay of Bengal. She was renamed BNS Kapatakhaya.

Career
The island class patrol boats were built to enforce a 200 mi fishing zone around the UK, netting hundreds of thousands of pounds in fines.

The Kapatakhaya is currently under the command of the Commodore Commanding Khulna (COMKHUL). About 100 personnel serve at Kapatakhaya, which is categorized as Large Offshore Patrol Vessel by Bangladesh Navy.