HMS Bangor will spend Easter in Northern Ireland as she visits her namesake town to tell of her deeds in Libya.
Recently returned from her vital frontline role in the Libyan conflict, the ship’s company is looking forward to greeting local people on both Sunday April 8 and Monday April 9 from 12-5pm on both days when the ship will be open to the public.
In addition to this, HMS Bangor will host a number of pre-arranged tours for local groups and organisations, as well as an evening reception for invited guests.
The ship’s commanding officer, Lt Cdr Matt Moore , said: “It is always an honour to bring HMS Bangor to the town of Bangor and this visit is eagerly anticipated by my crew.
“We always enjoy very warm hospitality in our adopted home town and by opening the ship to visitors on Sunday and Monday, we hope to be able to show local people a little more about what the modern Royal Navy is all about.
“I sincerely hope that as many people as possible will come along to visit and hear more about our role in protecting the nation’s interests, most recently during our operations off Libya.”
In the second half of 2011 Bangor was deployed as part of Operation Unified Protector, operating in the Mediterranean with the NATO task group formed to protect civilians during the civil war in Libya.
During this period the ship located – and neutralised – one ground mine and one torpedo, both found on the seabed in the approaches to Tobruk.
Bangor is one of seven Sandown class mine hunters – five of the class make their ‘home’ at the Scottish base, while two others – currently Pembroke and Ramsey – are on permanent deployment in the Gulf, with the ship’s crews rotating during each deployment.
Built of glass reinforced plastic, the design ensures that the ship is extremely quiet and has a very low magnetic signature, essential when operating in a minefield.
Equipped with the latest precise navigation and manoeuvring systems, which allow it to “hover” over a fixed point and search for mines with a variable depth sonar to depths in excess of 200 metres of water, Bangor can also deploy her clearance divers or latest state of the art submersible to deal with mines or suspicious objects.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , April 05, 2012; Image: royalnavy