Britain’s most advanced warship has paid her first visit to Jordan on the latest stage of her maiden deployment. HMS Daring sailed into Aqaba where she trained with Jordanian counterparts, welcomed royalty and local VIPS, and gave her ship’s company the chance to visit the ancient city of Petra.
Sailors from the Portsmouth-based warship worked with Jordanian counterparts while she was berthed close to the port of Aqaba.
The Type 45’s Royal Marine boarding team took the chance to conduct board and search exercises at a specially-built ship at the Royal Jordanian Naval Force HQ.
It was the first port visit by Daring since she entered her area of operations after her passage through Suez. The visit represented an opportunity to highlight Britain’s close ties with Jordan – a long-term ally of the UK.
Commodore Simon Ancona, the UK’s Maritime Component Commander for the Middle East, based in the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, met with Daring’s commanding officer and crew as well as senior Jordanian Naval personnel. Daring is sailing to the Middle East as part of the Navy’s long-standing commitment to the Gulf, which has seen British warships in the warm waters since the 1980s.
As part of a reception Daring hosted more than 75 guests and VIPs, including the UK’s Ambassador to Jordan, for a ship’s demonstration. This was followed by a visit by the King of Jordan’s youngest son, Prince Hashem. Ship’s tours were provided for Aqaba School children and for Jordanian naval trainees.
The visit to Aqaba gave Daring’s crew a short period of downtime on their seven-month deployment. A large number of them visited the dramatic ruins at the ancient city of Petra.
AB(CIS) Chrissy Howie said:
“Having visits like this after working for long periods at sea is fantastic.
“The ruins were amazing; seeing such ancient sites in the sand-swept desert was a rare opportunity.”
Daring will now continue on with her wider tasking, ranging from maritime security to counter-piracy and disaster relief work. She will work with other navies in the Combined Maritime Task Forces, a 25-nation partnership who coordinate military and multi-agency assets to safeguard Maritime Security operations.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , February 10, 2012; Image: royalnavy