HMS Defender passes through Strait of Messina on homeward-bound journey

The Royal Navy's state-of-the-art Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender has passed through the Strait of Messina.

HMS Defender, currently on her journey home as part of the Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21), tweeted a timelapse video of the passage, which comes after she transited the Suez Canal last week.

The Strait of Messina is a narrow channel, separating the eastern tip of Sicily and the western tip of Calabria in southern Italy.

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Adventurer Bear Grylls, Royal Marines Honorary Colonel, congratulated members of Defender's Royal Marine Boarding Team on Twitter, describing them as 'the world's best' after being held at high readiness on board for seven months.