The Royal navy’s Type 23 frigate, HMS Richmond was warmly greeted by loved ones on Friday as she returned to Portsmouth following a successful seven-month Atlantic patrol conducting maritime security operations, working with foreign navies and strengthening ties in the region.
HMS Richmond has conducted a wide range of operations including working with the Cape Verde Coast Guard to conduct training, maritime security patrols of the Exclusive Economic Zones of Ascension Island, St Helena and Tristan Da Cunha (all British Overseas Territories) and assisting members of the British Antarctic Survey to reach South Georgia for conservation work.
Regarding her first deployment, Engineering Technician (Weapons Engineering) Scarlett Johnson said: “The deployment over the past seven months presented a number of challenges and experiences.
“We have visited twelve different places from the striking icy landscapes of South Georgia to the warm and vibrant Florida. It was a wonderful trip that not only gave us the opportunity to develop skills through extensive training, but also to broaden our knowledge of the countries and communities with which we associated.
Highlights have included working in a wide range of conditions where we were given the opportunity to meet and learn about people from several different cultures. Also the milestones that we crossed, including crossing the equator and visiting one of the most southerly populated places on the planet, and the personal achievements which we were given the chance to strive for, such as studying for further A levels.”
“Overall it has been a very rewarding and unforgettable experience, and it has been a deployment that I am personally very proud to have completed.“
The Type 23 frigate has spent 2,881 hours at sea covering 33,316 nautical miles, visiting seven foreign countries (Portugal, Cape Verde, South Africa, Panama, Colombia, Bahamas and the United States of America) and five British Overseas Territories (Ascension Island, St Helena, Falkland Islands, Tristan da Cunha and South Georgia).
[mappress] Press Release, February 24, 2014, Image: Royal Navy