It is a Vosper Thornycroft 'Island Class' vessel and was commissioned in 1993.

[2] HMC Sentinel entered service in 1993 with what was then HM Customs and Excise (HMCE).

[4] HMC Sentinel was decommissioned July 2013 in Portsmouth, Hampshire.

Currently listed as a private vessel registered in Mongolia and was seen in Plymouth, Devon, on the 19 October 2018 flying the Mongolian flag.

Following the transfer to the UK Border Agency this was shortened to the present "HMC" (Her Majesty's Cutter) and a new livery was applied to the fleet.