HMS Spey says g'day as she swaps sailors with HMAS Sydney in East China Sea
Crew aboard Batch 2 river-class offshore patrol vessel HMS Spey conducted exercises with their Australian counterparts as they crossed paths in the East China Sea.
Ahead of a visit to South Korea, Spey met with destroyer HMAS Sydney and concentrated exercises on training each vessel's bridge teams.
The cross-deck exercises centred around tactical communications, close quarters manoeuvres, and replenishment at sea.
Sailors from Spey and Sydney also completed various Officer of the Watch serials.
The training allowed British and Australian sailors to swap over, giving insight into life as part of the other's navy.
A crew family from HMS Spey also took part in the vessel's first-ever baptism, using the ship's bell as a font for water.
Spey and Sydney's paths have crossed for the second time in two months as both vessels were involved in the regional Bersama Shield exercises off the Malay Peninsula in April.
They met up alongside the other three members of the Five Powers Defence Agreement – Singapore, New Zealand and Malaysia.
Spey is just under four years into a long-term mission as a roaming ambassador for the UK in collaboration with sister ship HMS Tamar.
Led by Commander Paul Caddy, the vessel is currently working alongside allies in the Indo-Pacific.
"Good working relationships are a key part of building interoperability with our allies," says Cdr Caddy.
"This exercise gave an opportunity to exchange members of the crew by sea boat between the two ships.
"Members of the ship's companies from both ships, from a range of roles, took the chance to learn more about how each ship operates and understand each other's capabilities."
The sailor swap also allowed an unexpected reunion between two former colleagues, HMS Spey's weapon engineering officer, Lieutenant Hannah Beckett, and Lieutenant Commander Simone Macintosh, the Executive Officer of HMAS Sydney.
The pair had served together on frigate HMS Kent in 2022 when Lieutenant Commander Macintosh was attached to the Royal Navy, becoming a principal warfare officer as part of an exchange programme.
"This exercise shows how close we are as allies, and how easily we can operate together anywhere in the world," says Lt Beckett.
"Meeting up with an old friend from the other side of the world shows just how close our working relationship is with the Royal Australian Navy, and it was the icing on the cake for a great exercise."
On the rare occasion she's in UK waters, HMS Spey is based in Portsmouth.
The eighth ship in the Royal Navy to be given this name, she takes her title from the River Spey in Scotland.
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