UK — HMS Montrose deploys on counter-piracy operations

The Roy­al Navy frigate HMS Mon­trose set sail from Her Majesty’s Naval Base in Devon­port, Ply­mouth, this week for the Horn of Africa and the Soma­li Basin, where she will take part in counter-pira­cy oper­a­tions.

Fam­i­ly and friends wave to the crew of HMS Mon­trose as the ship leaves HM Naval Base Devon­port Source: Lead­ing Air­man (Pho­tog­ra­ph­er) Dan Hoop­er, Min­istry of Defence, UK Click to enlarge

The ship will join a NATO-led task group engaged in counter-pira­cy in the region. The Type 23 frigate will also be employed in gen­er­al mar­itime secu­ri­ty oper­a­tions, all the while remain­ing ready for any oth­er cri­sis response task­ing that may be required at any time. 

The ship’s crew also com­pris­es a team of Roy­al Marines expe­ri­enced in using the full range of her counter-pira­cy capa­bil­i­ties, includ­ing the ship’s Lynx heli­copter and rigid inflat­able boats. 

This deploy­ment marks a major mile­stone for HMS Mon­trose and crew, fol­low­ing an exten­sive refit peri­od last year and sev­er­al weeks of chal­leng­ing oper­a­tional sea train­ing. The refit and inten­sive train­ing has pre­pared both the ship and her crew for the deploy­ment, ensur­ing they are ready for what­ev­er they may face over the com­ing months. 

The ship’s Com­mand­ing Offi­cer, Com­man­der Jonathan Lett, said: 

“With the refit and exten­sive train­ing, the ship’s com­pa­ny have spent most of this year prepar­ing for this deploy­ment. Every mem­ber of my team is well-pre­pared and very well-trained for the poten­tial chal­lenges ahead and they are look­ing for­ward to the chance to make a dif­fer­ence in the region.” 

Com­mis­sioned by Lady Edith Rifkind in 1992, HMS Mon­trose has a crew of 174 offi­cers and rat­ings and is equipped with the lat­est weapons, sen­sors and com­mu­ni­ca­tion sys­tems, includ­ing the air defence Sea­wolf mis­sile sys­tem, a 4.5 inch (114.3mm) gun, anti-sub­ma­rine tor­pe­does, Har­poon anti-ship mis­siles and a Lynx helicopter. 

Press release
Min­istry of Defence, UK 

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