HMS Trent’s crew razor sharp for NATO missions

Sailors on board HMS Trent are razor sharp for NATO missions in the Mediterranean after crucial training on their maiden deployment.

The new Offshore Patrol Vessel is now in the Med with NATO on maritime security operations having sailed from Portsmouth after her commissioning earlier this month.

Her time sailing from the UK to her first port visit at Gibraltar gave the ship’s company time to train hard for the operations ahead.

Heading south towards the sunshine of the Med, Trent’s sailors not only fired the full suite of weapons on board but also trialled future weapons for the Maritime Warfare Centre.

The 30mm automatic small calibre gun is the tip of the Trent spear and the gunners made the most of the good conditions in the Bay of Biscay to test their abilities with it.

Alongside the gunnery exercises, the River-class patrol ship carried out emergency training so those on board remain at the top of their game and ready to respond quickly.

This included man overboard training, involving everyone on board from the Officer of the Watch to the seaboat coxswains.

The engineers on board were also put to the test with machinery breakdown drills and steering gear breakdown drills to ensure the crew are capable of responding at a moment’s notice if something breaks.

Several new members of the HMS Trent family used this time to gain familiarity with their new ship as they work towards endorsement.

Engineering Technician (Marine Engineering) Charlie ‘Ruby’ Murray said: “It’s always an exciting challenge getting to learn the systems on a new ship.

“My last ship was HMS Queen Elizabeth so Trent isn’t as big but we get a lot more responsibility on here and its good fun being able to get stuck in and get to grips with it all.”

After the week of training, the ship then pulled into Gibraltar for a brief pause before heading to support NATO’s Operation Sea Guardian, which sees allied ships patrol the Mediterranean.

This will see the Batch 2 OPV patrol the Mediterranean Sea, carrying out a broad spectrum of maritime security operations.