HMS Portisham (M2781)

History
Name:	HMS Portisham
Namesake:	Portisham
Builder:	Dorset Yacht Co.
Launched:	3 November 1955
Completed:	26 March 1956
Homeport:	Balbriggan
Identification:	Portisham
Fate:	Sold January 1989, currently in private ownership.
General characteristics
Class and type:	Ham-class minesweeper
Displacement:	120 tons sd
Beam:	21.5ft
Propulsion:	Originally, Paxman 12YHAXM, now Scania DS9 & Cummins L10
Speed:	14 kts
Range:	TBD
Complement:	2 - 6
Notes:	Pennant number(s): M2781 / IMS81

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

Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after [Portesham] in Dorset. The spelling PORTISHAM is probably a legacy from the previous vessel of this name in service during WW2 and is spelt thus in all authoritative reference books.

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 Irish Flag.

References

• https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/man-living-in-floating-home-wins-reprieve-against-council-1.3096381
• http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/supreme-court/supreme-court-defers-ruling-in-row-over-floating-home-in-dublin-1.2303449
• Blackman, R.V.B. ed. Jane's Fighting Ships various editions
• Colledge J.J. Ships of the Royal Navy various editions
• Cocker M.P. Mine Warfare Vessels of the Royal Navy (1993)