University Royal Naval Unit

A University Royal Naval Unit (URNU) is a Royal Navy training establishment connected to a university, or a number of universities concentrated in one area. There are 14 URNUs nationwide in the UK, and each URNU has land-based facilities near the university in question, up to four training officers (members of the Royal Naval Reserve) and a dedicated training vessel (an Archer-class P2000 fast patrol boat).

Units and ships

The units and their ships are

URNU ships are part of the 1st Patrol Boat Squadron, or "1PBS". 1PBS is commanded by Commander 1PBS, who is also Commander URNU. The mission statement of 1PBS is to provide high-quality sea training experiences in support of the URNU mission and to deliver P2000 operational capability in support of other fleet tasking.

Membership

While the URNUs are commanded by Commander URNU they fall under the overall jurisdiction of Commodore BRNC (the officer-in-charge of the Britannia Royal Naval College), Dartmouth. Each URNU is commanded by a Lieutenant RN, Lieutenant Commander or RM Captain, and is associated with a P2000 patrol boat of the 1st Patrol Boat Squadron. Each URNU comprises 51 undergraduates who join for the duration of their degree, with the option of taking years out or leaving at any time.