Navy

HMS Lancaster to set sail to Gulf for three-year security mission

Royal Navy HMS Lancaster will set sail from Portsmouth on Monday for a three-year mission to maintain Gulf security.

The 'Queen's Frigate', which was launched by Her Majesty in 1990 and named after her as the Duke of Lancaster, will work from Bahrain to provide security to international ships and prevent arms and drug smuggling.

She becomes the second Navy warship to operate from Bahrain on a long-term mission, according to the Senior Service, and will not be seen in the UK for at least another three years.

If you want to see @HMSLANCASTER, be on Portsmouth's historic waterfront at 11am on Monday - otherwise you won't catch her for 3 whole years.

The Type 23 is off to the Gulf on a long-term security mission after working with NATO task groups and taking part in key tech exercises. pic.twitter.com/KMC7hSNMks
— Royal Navy (@RoyalNavy) August 13, 2022

Ahead of Middle East operations, Lancaster will carry out NATO duties in European and Mediterranean seas, as well as helping to explore naval technology and robot craft, the Navy added.

Her European patrols with NATO Standing Group 1 will involve working with mostly frigates and destroyers in northern European waters on security missions.

She will then carry out the same mission with Standing Group 2 from the Pillars of Hercules to the Red Sea, as she travels eastward to the Gulf.

HMS Lancaster will take also part in trials and exercises - Dynamic Messenger and REPMUS off the coast of Portugal in September.

REPMUS will offer a chance to test more than 40 crewless systems in NATO's largest autonomous war games.

WATCH: On board with future Royal Marines landing craft operators.

Lancaster's 200-strong crew, which includes a Royal Marines boarding team and Wildcat helicopter flight, will rotate deployment with a second group in the UK every four months.

The 'forward deploying' enables the vessel to spend longer on patrol, carrying out maintenance works in the Middle East rather than travelling to and from the UK.

Engineering Technician Ciaran Doherty, responsible for maintaining Lancaster's communications and computer systems said: "I am really looking forward to my first deployment and seeing the world."

Commanding Officer Commander Tom Johnson added: "I am immensely proud of everything my ship's company have achieved to prepare for this deployment.

"Although our thoughts always turn to our loved ones at home when we depart the UK, we are very much looking forward to working alongside our international partners as part of a NATO Task Group over the coming months."