Royal Navy minehunter HMS Grimsby returned to HM Naval Base Clyde yesterday, December 18.
The Clyde-based ship and the 40-strong Crew 6 have spent the past four months on Mediterranean deployment, exercising with international navies and helping to keep vital sea lanes safe.
The vessel departed HM Naval Base Clyde on August 27 and during her deployment covered almost 8,000 nautical miles and visited 11 foreign ports as part of “NATO Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2”.
That high-level of interoperability was forged during exercises like Exercise Noble Justification, where dozens of ships, submarines and aircraft, along with hundreds of troops, acted out a complex military and political scenario. The exercise proved NATO’s readiness for action and saw HMS Grimsby’s crew fighting off simulated attacks from the air and sea.
The ship also called into Casablanca and Algiers in Africa where they conducted exercises with Moroccan and Algerian Frigates. The deployment finished with another exercise run by the Turkish navy in Izmir Bay, in the same waters as sailed by the ancient Greeks and Trojans.
The high pace of operations was a particular challenge for the ship’s Marine Engineering department who worked tirelessly to maintain HMS Grimsby, conducting two generator changes.
After a Christmas break, Crew 6 will conduct a full maintenance package on the ship, refreshing and repairing all parts of the vessel’s machinery and sensors. The crew will then begin training in preparation for deployment to the Gulf in summer 2015.
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Press release, Image: UK Navy