December 9, 2019 – Gearing up for an imminent return to sea are the crew of HMS Richmond, emerging from refit as the nation’s most advanced frigate. Long-based in Portsmouth, the ship has switched homes for Plymouth – where all the dedicated submarine-hunting Type 23s are being concentrated. While in the hands of the engineers at Babcock, Richmond has undergone…
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October 17, 2019 – Two Royal New Zealand Navy Inshore Patrol Vessels, HMNZS Pukaki and HMNZS Rotoiti, were decommissioned today at a formal ceremony at Devonport Naval Base in Auckland. The decommissioning of the two Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPVs) was signalled in the Defence Capability Plan that was publicly released earlier this year. In the plan, the intention to remove…
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August 27, 2019 – Guided missile frigate HMAS Melbourne and her 180-strong ship’s company have visited the Tasmanian port city of Devonport for one of the Australian warship’s final port visits before she is decommissioned later this year. The 138-metre-long warship pulled alongside Devonport Ferry Terminal on the Mersey River on Friday, ahead of a three day port visit. The…
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August 15, 2019 – Back in the bosom of her home port today after 22 months gathering data on waters from the Channel to the eastern shores of the Black Sea is HMS Echo. It is 668 days since the survey vessel last caught sight of Smeaton’s Tower thanks to an extremely varied – and rewarding – mission which began…
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August 15, 2019 – One hundred and twenty-nine crew of the Type 23 frigate HMS Lancaster have moved back on board the ship, breathing new life into the 4,500-ton warship following a two year overhaul in Devonport. Known as the ‘Red Rose’, HMS Lancaster – whose sponsor is Her Majesty The Queen in her role as Duke of Lancaster –…
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July 19, 2019 – After just over two months in the Baltic Sea HMS Albion, the Fleet Flagship, has returned to her home port of HM Naval Base Devonport in Plymouth. Returning on a grey, rainy day in Plymouth didn’t dampen the spirits of the waiting families and friends of the ship’s company. Over 400 of them were gathered on…
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July 11, 2019 – Four years since her last mission and two years since she began a massive overhaul, the Queen’s frigate – HMS Lancaster – is back in the water and preparing for renewed action. Crew are due to re-join the Type 23 frigate next month, breathing new life into the 4,500-tonne warship which has been a building site…
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March 4, 2019 – USS Porter (DDG 78) departed Naval Station Rota, Spain, to resume its sixth forward-deployed naval forces patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations, Mar. 4. Porter arrived in Rota Feb. 13 for a training and maintenance availability period. While in port, the crew performed maintenance that they were unable to complete while underway. In…
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December 14, 2018 – HMS Monmouth has returned to her home in Devonport after being deployed with the UK’s newest aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth. The Type-23 frigate has operated as part of the Carrier Strike Group since the ships sailed in August on the WESTLANT 2018 Deployment. Her role has been to provide security at sea for the Strike…
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November 20m 2018 – After nearly ten months away, UK flagship HMS Albion is homeward bound for Plymouth having completed her final port of call. The assault ship spent three days in Gibraltar, last stop before home and the end of a mammoth deployment which has taken her to Tokyo and back. After a number of stops in the Asia-Pacific…
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November 9, 2018 – Families and friends crammed the wharf at Devonport Naval Base this morning to welcome back the 176 crewmembers of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) frigate HMNZS Te Mana, who returned from a five-month engagement across the Asia-Pacific region. Te Mana and its crew left in June to conduct defense engagement activities in five countries across…
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November 1, 2018 – Babcock International has today announced it has taken the difficult decision to exit operations at its Appledore facility in Devon, ending its site lease in March 2019. Babcock’s focus is now firmly on its workforce and its determination to protect their employment within the business. To that end, the company will offer relocation opportunities for all…
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October 23, 2018 – The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) inspected 10 vessels during recent maritime patrols in the Exclusive Economic Zones of Samoa and Tokelau. Major General Tim Gall, the Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, said the patrols were conducted to support New Zealand’s Pacific neighbors and involved enforcement personnel from Samoa…
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October 8, 2018 – All of the Royal Navy’s next-generation Type 26 frigates will be homed in Devonport, the Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced at the Naval Base today. The eight Type 26 warships will start being delivered to the Royal Navy from the mid-2020s, heralding yet another new era in the role of a base which has played a…
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The Duke of Edinburgh gave his blessing yesterday as the name of a ship he once commanded was resurrected after nearly 60 years. New survey ship HMS Magpie was formally welcomed into the Naval family in her home of Devonport yesterday afternoon. Among the Commanding Officers of the previous Magpie was the Duke of Edinburgh, who was in charge of…
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