The heads of the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary flew to Gibraltar to thank sailors for their efforts on a mammoth deployment to Australia and back over 13 months.
The participation of amphibious support ship RFA Lyme Bay has been essential to the success of the mission of the Littoral Response Group (South) – a small, mobile task group formed to act as a springboard for raids by Royal Marine Commandos in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Indo-Pacific regions.
That mission ended with the Bay-class vessel’s arrival in Gibraltar, where she’ll undergo a comprehensive maintenance package over the winter before resuming her duties.
Before her crew mostly disperse, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key and Commodore Sam Shattock, Commodore RFA, clambered up the gangway to meet crew, discuss the deployment and thank all for their resolve and commitment.
“It is a great privilege to bring RFA Lyme Bay and her team back to European waters following a deployment of such importance to Defence,” said Lyme Bay’s Commanding Officer Captain Chris Ovens RFA.
“Having been attached to the ship since her regeneration I have seen first-hand the dedication and hard work my ship’s company of all cap badges have shown – from high readiness in the Mediterranean, amphibious ops ‘Down Under’ and high-level defense engagement; the ability to operate and exercise alongside our overseas counterparts; honing skills, improving capability and demonstrating our interoperability has been extremely valuable.
“To have this recognized on arrival by the First Sea Lord and our own Head of Service is a credit to all who have served in Lyme Bay over the last 13-plus months.”
The ship left the UK on October 9 2023 as one half of the Littoral Response Group, acting as command ship, alongside RFA Argus.
And 414 days later she arrived in Gibraltar, mission complete, having sailed 40,458 nautical miles (nearly twice around the Earth).
Her date of departure is significant – two days after the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israel, sparking the ongoing conflict/crisis in the Middle East.
As a result, Lyme Bay and Argus spent the autumn-winter of 2023/24 not conducting amphibious training east of Suez largely as planned, but held at high-readiness around Cyprus, ready to evacuate entitled civilians from the Israel-Lebanon area should the security situation deteriorate.