Royal Navy mine hunter HMS Penzance has returned to her Scottish base of operations after spending three years playing her part in protecting vital waterways in the Gulf.
The Faslane ship is a Royal Navy Sandown class Mine Counter Measures Vessel (MCMV) and clocked up over 7,500 hours at sea and sailed more than 34,000 miles in her three-year deployment in the Middle East.
Her scope of operations included conducting routine surveys, sea-bed clearance and mine clearance operations. The ships provide a visible naval presence in the region where stability and good relations with local nations is vital.
Much of the UK’s gas, as well as other products, come from the Gulf region and the Royal Navy’s efforts are of vital importance to the UK economy.
HMS Penzance left Faslane in June 2014 for service in the Gulf with Crew 1 joining the ship in January 2017- an especially long deployment for the crew of a mine hunter.
While the ships stay on deployment in the region for years at a time, the crews are rotated every six-months or so, flying out to join the vessels.
Commanding Officer of HMS Penzance, Lieutenant Commander Jim Lovell, said: “The ship has performed everything asked of her during the deployment and I could not be more proud of my Ship’s Company.
“A professional and versatile team, they have delivered everything I have asked of them but now it’s time for some very well earned leave.”
image © Crown Copyright
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