On 6 November 2013 it was announced that the Royal Navy had signed an Agreement in Principle to build three new offshore patrol vessels, based on the River-class design, at a fixed price of £348 million including spares and support.

[16] Batch 2 ships such as Spey include some 29 modifications and enhancements over the Amazonas-class corvette built by BAE Systems for the Brazilian Navy.

[19] She began contractor sea trials in September 2020,[20] and after they were completed, left the Clyde on 28 October for the delivery voyage to Portsmouth.

In late spring 2021, Spey received "dazzle" camouflage in Falmouth in preparation for deploying to the Indo-Pacific region with sister ship Tamar.

[23] On 7 September, Spey and sister Tamar departed Portsmouth to be forward deployed to the Indo-Pacific region for a minimum of five years.