British Minehunter Moves to East

Standing ready in sight of the Libyan shore, HMS Bangor remains ready to tackle any mine threat. The British minehunter has been operating to the east of the country, outside of the ports of Benghazi and Brega.

Along with units from nations including the Netherlands, Bangor has been making sure these ports are free from mines and safe for civilian shipping.

To be ready for work Bangor has gone through essential maintenance in Malta, ensuring she maintains her high state of readiness.

This allowed the ship’s company some down time after three months of hard work operating in extreme weather conditions and at constant notice for operations.

Many took the opportunity to fly families out to Malta for a break from operations. The support of families back home is vital to the success of overseas work and everyone knows how hard it can be to be away from loved ones for such a long time.

A raft manoeuvre was also conducted with the Dutch minehunter HNLMS Haarlem, which has been in theatre with Bangor since she arrived in the Mediterranean and will shortly head for home. Aligning the ship’s next to each other gave Bangor’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Neil Marriott, the chance to pass on his best wishes.

He said: “It is always a privilege to work with professional teams from other nations, and Haarlem is no exception.

“We share mutual professionalism and a clear understanding of minehunting procedures, which has resulted in rapid tasking to open the way for humanitarian aid to reach the Libyan people. “We look forward to continuing good results with HNLMS Vlaardingen when she arrives later in the month.”

This last patrol has been a welcome change for the Ship’s company who are looking forward to what further tasking comes their way.

Bangor and other British units involved in operations in Libya were praised by the Chief of the Defence Staff.

In a visit to RAF personnel station in Italy, General Sir David Richards, said: “The Royal Navy has been absolutely critical to the overall success of the operation and I will be telling the First Sea Lord how grateful we all are for that, and you deserve huge credit for that too.”

[mappress]
Source: mod, September 23, 2011;