HMS Brocklesby Leaves For Two-Year Gulf Deployment

(Picture: Royal Navy).

HMS Brocklesby has left her homeport of Portsmouth to embark on a 6,000-mile journey to Bahrain.

The Hunt-class minehunter will take over from her sister ship HMS Middleton in the Gulf where she will remain for two years on deployment.

HMS Brocklesby will form part of a four-strong permanent minehunter presence in the Gulf, working alongside coalition partners to provide reassurance to the region as well as route survey, sea-bed clearance, and mine clearance operations.

Commanding Officer of HMS Brocklesby, Lieutenant Commander Paul Irving, said: "After a busy period of maintenance and a lot of hard work from my ship's company it was a fantastic feeling to sail today to the Gulf.

"We are looking forward to getting into our primary role by ensuring we keep shipping lanes safe and working with our regional partners to provide maritime security."

She will spend the next two years based in Bahrain with crew rotating every six or seven months. Her current crew, Crew 3, will return before Christmas.

The crew have been preparing for their deployment by completing a five-week Operational Sea Training programme, as well as taking part in one of Europe's biggest joint exercise programmes, Exercise Joint Warrior.

Engineering Technician ‘Smudge’ Smith said: “This has been a great opportunity for me to put my skills into practice and learn lots of new things too."

HMS Shoreham, a Sandown-class minehunter, is also heading to Bahrain to take over from HMS Bangor, having left the UK on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, HMS Argyll has left Devonport Naval Base to begin a nine-month deployment to the Gulf and Pacific.