HMS Diamond homecoming

Home safely in Portsmouth after a two-month mission to strangle arms trafficking in the central Mediterranean is Her Majesty’s Ship Diamond.

The Type 45 destroyer was dispatched to the region at the end of August to support both a UN Security Council Resolution and the EU Naval Force committed to preventing weapons reaching Libya by sea.

Diamond carried out surveillance of shipping off Libya, while her mixed Royal Marines-Royal Navy boarding team carried out a small number of searches of vessels, looking for weapons and ammunition, while her Wildcat helicopter provided cover overhead.

No arms were found during her spell on patrol.

The destroyer plugged the gap left briefly by RFA Mounts Bay which was undergoing maintenance in Gibraltar and has now resumed the mission.

“Diamond has made a important contribution to the effort in the Mediterranean,” said the destroyer’s CO Commander Marcus Hember.

“It is important that we not only contribute to the efforts to help the people of Libya, but that we also try to address the root causes of these problems.”

“We have certainly contributed to that effort in our time here, dramatically improving our understanding of maritime activity in the region.”