HMS Trent has now completed her second patrol on NATO security operations in the Mediterranean Sea.
Continuing to support Operation Sea Guardian, the patrol ship has vigilantly aided efforts to detect and disrupt suspicious and illegal activity.
While on patrol, Trent met up with allied US Navy warship the USS Winston Churchill. Named after the iconic Second World War Prime Minister, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer has both historical and current links with the Royal Navy with its navigating officer always British.
Upon leaving Gibraltar, Trent’s bridge team took the opportunity to make the most of the Mediterranean sun by sailing the ship out of the harbour from the open bridge, testing out a new capability.
The warm weather and calm sea also meant the ship’s company were able to swim in the Mediterranean’s waters, as the ship carried out her first Hands to Bathe.
Engineering Technician (Weapons Engineering) Robson Gelder said: “It was really good fun to jump in the water, it’s looked really tempting at times with all this sun we’ve been having.
“It was my first time doing a Hands to Bathe but it’s been something I’ve wanted to do since I joined up so I’m glad I got to tick it off the list.”
As Trent headed to Limassol, in Cyprus, she conducted a search and rescue exercise with a Cypriot Joint Rescue Coordination Centre helicopter. It comes after Royal Navy survey ship HMS Enterprise did similar training with Cypriot forces earlier this month.
The exercise revolved around a scenario where one of the crew was so badly injured they had to be urgently winched off and flown to the local hospital for immediate assistance.
After completing the training, the ship stopped in Limassol. It marked the ship’s first deployed watch rotation, where a third of the crew will depart on leave and the ‘off-watch’ crew will go on board.
This way of manning the ship is the same for Trent’s sister Offshore Patrol Vessels Forth, Medway, Tamar and Spey.
Lieutenant Oliver Bekier, the off-going executive officer, said: “This period in command has been superb. It has not been without its challenges, but the opportunity to lead Trent on her first period of operations and establish this new warship in a part of the world the Batch 2 OPVs have never been before has been an honour.”
