The Island class patrol vessel was developed as a result of the Royal Navy's experiences in the so called Cod War with Iceland, and the success of HMS Jura in fishery protection patrols. The class was designed along the lines of the fishing trawlers they were built to protect. These ships were designed and built by Hall Russell of Aberdeen.

The seven ships formed the bulk of the Fishery Protection Squadron, whose mission was to patrol the Atlantic fishing grounds, and ensure the security of the British oil and gas fields in the North Sea. However, since the mid 1990s, the class has been gradually decommissioned; HMS Jersey was sold to Bangladesh in 1994, to be followed by Shetland, Alderney, Anglesey, Guernsey and Lindisfarne, with HMS Orkney going to Trinidad and Tobago. The 'Island' class was replaced in the Fishery Protection Squadron by the three ships of the 'River' class.

References

• Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995