HMS Middleton Exercises with Saudi Navy

Bahrain based Royal Navy (RN) Mine-Countermeasures Vessels (MCMVs) HMS Middleton and HMS Ramsey recently conducted combined training during a UK-Saudi bilateral maritime exercise. The exercise coincided with a visit to Jubail in Saudi Arabia, a large industrial and commercial port which processes and exports a significant percentage of the region’s petrochemicals, and is home to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces’ (RSNF) Eastern Fleet.

Interaction began with a lunch and pre-sail conference hosted onboard Middleton. The opportunity was taken to demonstrate the RN’s Mine Disposal System, Seafox, to the Royal Suadi Naval Force and Commodore of the Mine Warfare Group whose ships are currently undergoing a mid-life update. The sea phase commenced with two days of exercises with their Saudi counterparts in RSNF vessels HMS Shaqra and HMS Al Kharj.  The Saudi ships are very similar to HMS Ramsey, being UK-built Al Jawf (Sandown) class mine hunters.

The exercise served to complement the deep and historic defence relationship the UK shares with Saudi Arabia and in particular between the RSNF and RN. The ships took the chance to conduct a series of ‘Officer of the Watch Manoeuvres’, which saw the ships speeding past each other at close range under careful ship handling.  As the weather worsened, Middleton played the role of a ‘vessel in distress’ and drifted whilst Al Kharj provided assistance in the form of a tow. This clearly demonstrated the interoperability achievable when two professional navies are brought together.

AB(D)  Brown said: “I was really impressed at how quickly the Saudis connected up the tow. They were really fast and did a great job in some pretty rough weather conditions.”

Regrettably, later serials were hampered by particularly high winds; the strongest that many of the crew have ever experienced in the Gulf as 60-knot squalls blew through.

Upon conclusion of the exercise, Middleton and Ramsey conducted a sail past and courtesy salute to the RSNF Eastern Fleet’s Naval Base and Headquarters before proceeding back out to sea for some gunnery practice on the way back to base in Bahrain. 

Lt Cdr Andrew Ingham, Commanding Officer of HMS Middleton, said:

 “the opportunity to work with the Royal Saudi Navy has been superb. My crew have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are delighted to have had the chance to demonstrate what we can do working together. Saudi Arabia is an important regional partner for the UK and we look forward to maintaining and building upon the relationships forged during our valuable time in company.”

Portsmouth based HMS Middleton is the seventh Hunt class mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV) to be built for the Royal Navy.The vessel is constructed from Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) and was launched in April 1983 at Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, Glasgow and accepted into service on 4 July 1984.

HMS Middleton has been deployed to the Arabian Gulf on a crew rotational basis since early 2010. The current crew, MCM2 Crew 8 have served in Middleton since June 2011 and are forward-based from Bahrain; they will return to their friends and families in 2012.