HMS Hecate (A137)

HMS "Hecate" (A137) was a Royal Navy deep ocean survey vessel of the Hecla Class. It was present at the "presentation of fleet colours" review in Torbay on 29 July 1969. The ship was decommissioned in 1990.

In the mid-1970s she was in the Persian Gulf surveying the entrance areas in the event of conflicts while based in Banada Abbas, Iran.

During the Falklands War, "Hecate", unlike her sister ships, was painted grey and sent south to assume HMS|Endurance|1967|6's role as the Ice Patrol Ship. Arriving on station after the ceasefire, "Hecate" conducted patrols and surveys in the South Atlantic. "Hecate" visited British Antarctic Survey bases and spent Christmas in Grytviken, South Georgia, where the crew enjoyed a memorable candlelit Christmas mass in the settlement's old whaling church. The New Year was spent at the Falkland Islands before "Hecate" became the first Royal Navy ship to visit South America following the hostilities. "Hecate" embarked a Chilean pilot at Punta Arenas before sailing to Talcahuano, Chile via the Patagonian Channel. Following a brief visit, "Hecate" took passage through the Panama Canal for a four day visit to Antigua. "Hecate" returned to the UK in February, 1983. (Rick Barnes - Writer, HMS "Hecate" 1982 to 1984).