Delivering in spades… Navy’s top ships recognised for their deeds

Of the 58 vessels in the Surface Fleet, the Plymouth-based warship has been deemed the most capable for wildly differing missions demanding different skills and qualities, always delivered to the highest standards.

The frigate was the first Royal Navy vessel to deploy in 2024 – just five days into the new year and on the back of a short-notice mini-deployment to the Baltic – dispatched to the Middle East to support efforts to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea.

That put her firmly in harm’s way, working with allies to defend merchant vessels from missile attack from Houthi rebels in Yemen. 

Richmond spent six weeks in the line of fire and downed a couple of drones – the first time the Navy’s Sea Ceptor air defence missile system has been fired in anger.

That action made the headlines, but there was also the constant threat of surface threats, board and search operations to prevent arms reaching the Houthis by sea, work with allies, and defence engagement events crammed into the deployment.

Nor has there been any respite for the ship since returning from the Gulf as Richmond has been committed heavily in North Atlantic patrols keeping constant watch on submarine activity to safeguard operations in waters in the UK’s area of interest.

And just for good measure, in the high summer she twice kept a constant eye on a Chinese PLAN task group as it passed through the Dover Strait/Channel. 

For all these reasons – and more – HMS Richmond takes the overall Naval Capability Trophy and ‘best frigate’ title, ahead of her sister Lancaster; is runner-up to another sister ship, HMS Portland, in the underwater warfare category; 

In her winning citation, Richmond is described as a ship which has gained a reputation across the Fleet “as a workhorse that can be depended upon to achieve the mission”, has “constantly delivered,” operating “to the highest of standards”.

It continues: “For her operations from the Indian Ocean to the Arctic Circle, and from the Gulf of Finland to the mid-Atlantic ridge, HMS Richmond has delivered in spades and is fully deserving of the award.”

Commodore Paul Pitcher, Commodore Surface Flotilla, said:  “The SURFLOT Excellence Awards are a fantastic opportunity to recognise the hard work and achievements of our people throughout the year.

“2024 has been a demanding period requiring dedication and professionalism, and the Surface Flotilla has delivered across the board – BZ to all winners and runners-up!“

As well as bragging rights, title winners are permitted to fly the Fleet Effectiveness Pennant, which feature the symbol of the Surface Flotilla, two hippocampi (mythological sea horses), for 12 months.

Another vessel regularly in the public eye in 2024 to pick up one title (best overseas patrol ship) – plus runner up when it came to engineering efforts – is HMS Trent, which spent nine months on near constant patrol from New Year’s Day until being relieved by her sister Medway at the beginning of autumn.

By then she’d bagged over £750m of illegal narcotics through eight drugs busts in seven months (including the first ‘narco sub’ seized by the RN) and “earned her place as the most successful Royal Navy counter-narcotics unit of the 21st Century by seizing the largest amount of Class A narcotics in a single year”.

Which was a bit of a surprise as originally she was only due to spend three months in the Caribbean before returning to her more traditional patrol areas in the Med/West Africa.

Side-by-side with working the US and international authorities, the ship was on hand for disaster relief duties during the first half of the 2024 hurricane season, assisting Cayman Islanders after Hurricane Beryl and the British Virgin Islands in the wake of Tropical Storm Ernesto.