The National Historic Fleet

The vessels on the National Historic Fleet are distinguished by:

  • being of pre-eminent national or regional significance.
  • spanning the spectrum of UK maritime history
  • illustrating changes in construction and technology
  • meriting a higher priority for long term preservation

The National Historic Fleet may also include vessels from the National Small Boat Register which are a minimum of 50 years and which fit the above criteria

The National Historic Fleet is reviewed on a regular basis.

View vessels in the National Historic Fleet

2011: Year of the Registers

National Historic Ships has marked 2011 as the Year of the Registers when a large proportion of its workload will be concentrated on reviewing, updating and expanding the Registers it holds which comprise: the National Register of Historic Vessels (NRHV), the National Archive of Historic Vessels (NAHV) and the Overseas Watch List (OWL).  A key part of this will be the ongoing review of the National Historic Fleet (NHF) and the development of statements of significance for each Fleet vessel. 

National Historic Ships is also working closely with the National Small Boat Register (NSBR) on this review as a revised methodology for vessel assessment is put into place. The NSBR remains a separate register for vessels under 33 feet (10.07 metres) in length overall and as such has its own aims and objectives.  However, National Historic Ships is acutely aware that some NSBR vessels are of national significance and therefore merit inclusion in the NHF.  Vessels in this category will remain registered on the NSBR but, if they attain Fleet status, they will also be included on the NRHV database.  Only those vessels of demonstrable national pre-eminence and which meet all NRHV criteria except length will be considered.

National Historic Ships will be consulting with expert bodies and vessel associations as part of the Year of the Registers and looks forward to publishing the results of this work in due course.

Statements of Significance & Key Dates

As part of the Year of the Registers, National Historic Ships is continuing to add statements of significance and key dates to vessels on the NRHV.  Statements of Significance are prepared using the three headings set out in our guidance publication Conserving Historic Vessels.  These are being written for National Historic Fleet vessels under review and also on a case-by-case basis in relation to vessel applications made to the Heritage Lottery or other funding bodies on which we are consulted.  Key dates are being written for all vessels on the National Historic Fleet, as well as all new registrations and these are being uploaded to the vessel web entries as they are completed.