Tag: Devonport

HMS Echo Returns from 22 Month Deployment

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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 in the central Mediterranean and ended at the gateway to the Middle Sea. Echo’s 668-day tour of duty began supporting the international effort to prevent illegal migrant trafficking in the…

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HMS Lancaster Refit Nears Completion

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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 – has undergone extensive upgrades mirroring the major changes across the frigate flotilla, such as the new Artisan 3D radar, improved navigational radar and new-generation Sea Ceptor missile system as the…

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HMS Albion Home From the Baltic

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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 the jetty to wave the ship in as she sailed into Devonport Naval Base this morning. The ship has completed her first Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Maritime Task Group mission…

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HMS Lancaster Gears Up for Return

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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 since 2017. The Red Rose emerged from the giant frigate shed in Devonport where most of the work has been carried out and is now aiming to return to her…

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USS Porter Resume Sixth Fleet Patrol

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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 addition, inspectors from Afloat Training Group Norfolk embarked Porter to complete a mobility-seamanship inspection. “The crew was very happy to be home,” said Cmdr. Craig Trent, commanding officer of Porter.…

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HMS Monmouth Returns From F-35B Plane Guard Duty

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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 Group on the East Coast of the US as the Carrier conducted hugely successful and historic trials with the F35B- Lightning II jets. During her deployment, she travelled over 20,000…

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HMS Albion heads home after Gibraltar pit stop

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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 region and Middle East – Indonesia, South Korea, a lengthy period in Japan, Vietnam, Brunei and Oman amongst others – Albion called in on The Rock and a traditional last…

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HMNZS Te Mana Returns From Asia-Pacific Engagement

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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 the region. The ship also took part in four international exercises as part of its deployment. The first of these exercises was the biennial Rim of the Pacific, the world’s…

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Babcock Closing Appledore Shipyard

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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 199 Appledore employees at other Babcock facilities, 140 of whom are already on short-term redeployment to its Devonport operations. Babcock very much regrets having to take this course of action…

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NZDF Completes Pacific Fisheries Patrol

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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 and Tokelau. “We recognize that fishery resources are important to the economy and food security of Pacific Island countries,” Major General Gall said. “To support our Pacific neighbors we regularly…

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Defence Secretary Announces Devonport Will Be Home to Type 26 Frigates

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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 central role in the defence of the UK for hundreds of years – from the Napoleonic wars to the Falklands Conflict. The 6,900-tonne frigates will be world-class anti-submarine warships and…

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Duke of Edinburgh sends best wishes to HMS Magpie

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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 the sloop/frigate between 1950 and 1952 in the Mediterranean. A message from the 97-year-old was read out to crew, friends and family of the new ship during today’s commissioning ceremony:…

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HMS Talent to begin operational sea training

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The Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine HMS Talent is beginning intensive training to re-join the frontline operational fleet after a major refit. The Trafalgar Class submarine has completed an extensive multi-million pound maintenance period in HM Naval Base Devonport in Plymouth. [smartslider3 slider=76] The successful end of the engineering project was marked by her crew celebrating with the formal ceremony of Ship’s Company Divisions. The tradition of divisions, steeped in history, was overseen by Commodore J Le S Perks, Commodore of the Submarine Flotilla. Submariners were joined by 100 family and…

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HMS Ocean sails from Portsmouth for the last time

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HMS Ocean, the Royal Navy’s Fleet Flagship, has sailed from Portsmouth Naval Base for the last time before she decommissions from the Royal Navy. The helicopter carrier and assault ship arrived last Friday to pay a brief farewell visit to the city before returning to her homeport of Devonport, Plymouth for the final time under a white ensign later this month. Commanding Officer of HMS Ocean, Captain Robert Pedre, said: “It is fitting that the Fleet Flagship should have this opportunity to bid farewell to the city before decommissioning; a…

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DIO awards contract for new jetty at HMNB Devonport Oil Fuel Depot

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The project will deliver a new jetty with fuel loading and firefighting facilities; the firefighting facilities within the depot will also be replaced. The jetty will be constructed within a Special Area of Conservation on the River Tamar and the project has to comply with stringent environmental regulations. The completed facility will service all of the Navy fueling requirements at Devonport. Bill Hughes, DIO Project Manager said: This is a key milestone in the Navy Oil Fuel Depot upgrade program. There have been considerable environmental challenges and constraints that have…

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