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HMS Tamar drops in on Brisbane as Pacific patrols resume
14 January 2026
Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Tamar sailed into Australia’s third city on the latest leg of her Indo-Pacific mission.
The River-class ship made the 850-mile journey from the northern port city of Cairns, which serves as the Tamar’s ‘home from home’ when operating in the Coral Sea and environs – down the eastern seaboard for a combination of flag-flying, logistical support and also a chance to thank Australians for their support.
Once Tamar had berthed on the Brisbane River near the Gateway Bridge, she turned out her Guard of Honour to welcome Dr Jeannette Young, the 27th Governor of Queensland – The King’s representative in this Australian state.
She received a ceremonial welcome followed by an informal tour of the ship and a reception where she met members of the Guard before taking a tour of the 2,000-tonne warship for an understanding of life at sea and Tamar’s mission.
The highlight for Dr Young was the visit to sickbay, where she met Tamar’s ‘Doc’ and spoke about what it takes to keep a ship medically fit and ready for any emergency.
In true British fashion, the visit concluded with afternoon tea courtesy of the ship’s caterers.
Tamar is now into her fifth year operating in the vast Indo-Pacific domain – which stretches from Africa to Pearl Harbor – and relies on an extended logistics chain all the way back to the UK, plus shipyards/bases/contractors half way around the world who are not used to maintaining British warships with, in many cases, bespoke British equipment on them.
Visits like these help us build relationships with one of our closest allies, help our shared prosperity and create memories for life for our sailors.
So a visit by Queensland defence industry stakeholders, including a tour and a discussion of the benefit the Royal Navy receives from a strong regional defence industrial base, allowed Team Tamar to thank their hosts and also discuss any challenges which might be smoothed out.
A good smattering of regional media filed on board as well – it’s been three years since a Royal Navy warship last visited the Queensland capital, whose urban area embraces 2½ million people.
There was also time for the 50-strong crew to explore the city. They watched some international-level tennis, some Big Bash cricket (trying not to mention the Ashes), and visited the zoo which is apparently world famous.
“Visits like these help us build relationships with one of our closest allies, help our shared prosperity and create memories for life for our sailors,” said Commander Tom Lindsey, HMS Tamar’s captain.
“Collaborating with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office partners in Queensland has been very productive and helped to amplify our output and the level of engagement we can achieve as a visiting ship.”
Upon sailing from Brisbane, the ship conducted gunnery training in the Coral Sea to test the marksmanship of the warfare team, with the ship’s boats zipping around at high speed and manoeuvring deftly to present challenging ‘targets’ for their shipmates.