HMS Ramsey, Atherstone and Shoreham, plus their command ship RFA Cardigan Bay and escorting frigate HMS Somerset headed out for an exercise with their American counterparts.
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Pictures: MC1(NAC) Shannon Renfroe, US Navy, and the crew of HMS Shoreham
THIS is a bird’s eye view of one of the mainstay’s of the Royal Navy’s mission in the Gulf region.
Seen from the back of an 815 Naval Air Squadron Lynx, dipping its nose, this is ‘floating warehouse’ RFA Fort Austin, which provides food, spare parts and ammunition if required by Royal Navy – and other Allied vessels – keeping the sea lanes east of Suez free of pirates, terrorists, smugglers and other criminals.
In this case, the 36-year-old support ship joined five other British ships for the latest demanding exercise with the US Navy to deal with the threat of mines.
Three of the RN’s four Gulf-based minehunters – HM Ships Ramsey, Atherstone and Shoreham – command and support ship RFA Cardigan Bay, Fort Austin for supplies, and frigate HMS Somerset providing protection, headed to sea from Bahrain with their American counterparts to hone hunting and clearance techniques during the latest in a series of mine warfare exercises.
HMS Ramsey follows HMS Atherstone out of Bahrain – as seen from HMS Shoreham
This workout saw sailors clear an exercise minefield in the waters of the Gulf, making use of mine robot submersibles – Unmanned Underwater Vehicles in military parlance – divers, helicopters and other specialist equipment.
In addition to the technical skills being tested, sailors practised coping with challenging environmental conditions including strong tidal streams, complex underwater topography and high temperatures – it’s already typically in the high 20s Celsius in the central Gulf and on some days high 30s.
“The Gulf provides very different conditions from the ship’s base port in Faslane. Out here, our equipment gets to run through a full spectrum of environmental extremes,” said PO David ‘Muddy’ Watters, HMS Shoreham’s bosun.
USS Devastator ‘rafts up’ alongside RFA Cardigan Bay to take on supplies
While the minehunters focused on clearing mines and RFA Cardigan Bay choreographed the ships’ operations – she’s permanently home to a Royal Navy staff – HMS Somerset shielded the task group from any potential threat. That demanded careful positioning herself in relation to all the other ships – and being acutely aware of what the task group was doing, spread across a wide area.
“This was an immensely challenging exercise and provided great insight into the key role that the Royal Navy plays in countering mine threats,” said Sub Lieutenant Rob Lisle, a trainee warfare officer on Somerset.
Atherstone’s Commanding Officer, Lt Cdr Andy Smith, brought his ship back into base in Bahrain pleased with the results of the joint Anglo-US training.
HMS Shoreham follows HMS Ramsey with three US Navy Avenger-class minehunters bringing up the rear in formation out of Bahrain
“Overall the exercise was a success, honing the world class skills and expertise of the Royal Navy minehunters while providing a valuable and relevant opportunity for all the participating ships to test themselves in challenging conditions,” he said.
“This exercise with our coalition partners demonstrates the Royal Navy’s ability to successfully work in partnership with other nations and to provide security at sea.”
The Royal Navy maintains a four-strong mine warfare force in the Gulf, all based in Bahrain; HMS Quorn, not involved in this exercise, completes the quartet.