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She may be only 65ft (20m) in length but HMS Archer raises eyebrows whenever she pulls into port.In fact, as the head ship of 14 providing naval training to undergraduates across the UK, the P2000 Fast Patrol Boat is nearing time for retirement.
With a maximum speed of 12 knots, Archer is capable of carrying serious weapons and being used in active warfare.
But the dark blue vessel has spent the past few weeks on the west coast of Scotland teaching navigational and leadership skills to students from Aberdeen Universities' Royal Naval Unit.
On board has been the chief of the Portsmouth-based naval fleet, Commodore Rupert Wallace. He was keen to see the effect the training has before key decisions are made about any replacements.
He said: "The role, of course, is completely different from most ships, which are designed to fight and to conduct operations.
"I think the real value of these ships is that the students, the cadets, are seeing something of the navy without us having to recruit them.
"They will go on to their lives and their careers with an idea of what the navy actually does and what it's like to be at sea."
Each ship is affiliated to a university. In the case of Archer it is Aberdeen, while sister ship Smiter is linked to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
They are each crewed by five full-time officers and can take 12 students per trip.
As budgets for armed forces are tightened, there are fears for the future of ships such as Archer.
But even if the size of the fleet is reduced, commanders believe Archer holds an important role as the Royal Navy's only presence in the north of Scotland.
'Tight waters'
The ship's captain, Lt Michael Hutchinson, said: "For the students it's their first time deployed on the ship in surroundings that are unfamiliar to them.
"They get an enormous amount of self satisfaction and an increase in confidence when they find that they can actually do what we're asking them to do and steer the ship through some pretty tight waters."
Among the students on board are those from training for careers in law, medicine and the civil services.
Rich Kantharia, who is studying under a naval sponsorship, said: "It's just a good way to keep up my skills and take on a lot more responsibility than I'd have on a bigger ship."
HMS Archer completes her three-week long trip around the coast of Scotland on Thursday before returning to base in Aberdeen, but training will continue throughout the summer in and around her home port.
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.