She served as a minesweeper in the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the 1950s and 1960s, and in the Royal Navy Reserve under the name HMS Montrose from 1972 to 1976.

[3] Stubbington was powered by a pair of Napier Deltic diesel engines, giving a total of 3,000 shaft horsepower (2,200 kW).

[4] 45 tons of fuel were carried, giving a range of 3,000 nautical miles (3,500 mi; 5,600 km) at 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h).

In May 1969, after a refit at Gibraltar,[6][7] she returned to British waters, serving as a Navigation tender at Portsmouth, and in June 1972 she joined the Tay division of the Royal Navy Reserve, based at Dundee as part of the 10th Mine Counter Measures Squadron, and was renamed HMS Montrose while attached to the Tay Division.

[6][7] In 1976 she returned to her original name, and in June 1977, after a 14-month refit at Chatham Dockyard, joined the Fishery Protection Squadron.