The Royal Australian Navy helicopter frigate HMAS Anzac returned to her home port of Fleet Base East in Sydney on August 8, following a five month long NORTHERN TRIDENT 2015 deployment.
During NORTHERN TRIDENT, Anzac clocked up over 27,000 nautical miles as she navigated the Southern and Indian Oceans, Red Sea, Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea and the Northern and Southern Atlantic Oceans, spending some 94 days at sea and visiting 13 ports in 11 countries.
In addition to participating in the Centenary of Anzac, the vessel also participated in D-Day commemorations in Normandy, France, and conducted or participated in memorial services for Australian Navy personnel buried in Italy, Malta, South Africa and Mauritius.
The ship also undertook a number of engagements in the Mediterranean, Western Europe, Africa and the Indian Ocean, helping to strengthen Australia’s military and civil relationships across the globe.
The visits to South Africa and Mauritius were particularly notable as both nations are members of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, an organisation which Australia currently chairs, and which is of strategic importance to the economic stability and security of the Indian Ocean region.
The deployment has also provided significant opportunity for the Australian Navy to participate in exercises with foreign navies, including the British, French, Hellenic, New Zealand, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish navies.
Having successfully completed NORTHERN TRIDENT 2015, HMAS Anzac will begin preparations for her next taskings in the coming months.
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Image: Australian Navy