HMS Ocean on farewell visit to Portsmouth

The soon-to-be-decommissioned Royal Navy fleet flagship HMS Ocean arrived at Portsmouth Naval Base on February 2 on a farewell visit.

The helicopter carrier and assault ship arrived just after dawn to pay a visit to the city before returning to her homeport of Devonport, Plymouth for the final time under a white ensign later this month.

Commanding officer of HMS Ocean, Captain Robert Pedre, said: “My ship’s company and I are very much looking forward to our visit to Portsmouth.

“It is fitting that the Fleet Flagship should have this opportunity to bid farewell to the city before decommissioning; a visit that is all the more poignant for the many members of my ship’s company that are privileged to call this historic naval city home.”

HMS Ocean has delivered 20 years of service to the nation.

Since commissioning into Royal Navy in 1998 she has been involved in operation Palliser during the Sierra Leone civil war in 2000, operation Telic off the coast of Iraq in 2003, operation Ellamy as part of an international coalition in Libya in 2011, and most recently the hurricane relief contingent on operation Ruman in the Caribbean.

She has helped to evacuate British nationals and other entitled personnel from numerous areas of conflict around the world and delivered humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to thousands in need to name but a few of her operational highlights.

“HMNB Portsmouth was extremely proud to welcome the Royal Navy’s Fleet Flagship today – as a stalwart of operations in the Service for two decades,” said Captain Bill Oliphant, Captain of Portsmouth Naval Base.

“It was extremely poignant to see her berthed by our new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and making way for a new class of capability.”

HMS Ocean’s role as a highly capable amphibious ship has allowed her to make a significant contribution to UK operations over the years; she often hosted Royal Marines Commandos, helicopters from the Fleet Air Arm, the Army Air Corps and the Royal Air Force, as well as marines, soldiers and myriad of aircraft types from other nations.

Tallied up, the ship has spent 11 of the last 16 months deployed on operations overseas during which time she has covered almost 50000 miles.