Minehunter Brocklesby rewarded for her Libyan mission

Just as the people of the Libya continue to reap the fruits of their freedom so too do the British sailors who played a key role in supporting their struggle for casting off the Gaddafi yoke.

A few days after HMS Liverpool was rewarded for her seven-month stint by being named the Fleet’s best destroyer, the crew of HMS Brocklesby were collecting a similar trophy: Britain’s best minehunter.

Until relieved by HMS Bangor, the Portsmouth-based warship kept the sea lanes to the besieged port of Misrata open alongside other NATO minehunters.

That mission saw the ship’s company involved in live mine-clearance operations within range of enemy artillery and rockets since the Al Faw peninsula in Iraq in 2003.

Brocklesby found – and destroyed – one mine which pro-Gaddafi forces laid off in the approaches to Misrata, and thus helped to ensure that humanitarian aid continued to flow into the city by sea.

All of which was far from expected as 2011 began; the Hunt-class ship had originally sailed on a routine six-month deployment with NATO’s long-standing Mine Countermeasures Group 1 which patrols European and Mediterranean waters exercising, practising and frequently dealing with unexploded ordnance from wars past, rather than wars present.

The rapidly-developing events of the ‘Arab Spring’ across the countries of North Africa saw her reassigned at short notice to Operation Unified Protector and Operation Ellamy with a series of tasks off Libya.

Brockleby’s 155-day stint earned the ship’s company the Mine Warfare Trophy and Surface Fleet Efficiency Pennant – previously held by Faslane-based HMS Blyth.

The pennant now flies on Brock every day for the next 12 months.

Those awards were handed over by Rear Admiral Duncan Potts, Rear Admiral Surface Ships, and Capt Mark Durkin, Captain Minor War Vessels and Fishery Protection, as part of the annual presentation of Fleet Efficiency trophies and standards.

Rear Admiral Potts commented on the great achievements over the last year, particularly in operations off Libya, which demonstrated the crew truly warranted the award.

In particular he stressed the importance of recognising the constant efforts of small ships and the mine-warfare community in the Gulf as well as the Mediterranean.

After the presentation ceremony, the admiral dined and chatted with a cross section of Brocklesby’s crew to gain an insight into their experiences of the operations and general view of life aboard a small ship.

Since returning from her Libyan mission last summer Brocklesby has undergone a spot of maintenance and is now exercising and training around the UK as part of her regeneration for her next deployment.