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Maritime Reservists Train at HMS Calliope in Exercise Northern Star
18 March 2026
Fifty Royal Naval Reservists from across the UK converged on Tyneside for a weekend’s intense training to hone collective skills.
Gateshead unit HMS Calliope served as the hub, providing personnel, equipment and the main location – making full use of the adjacent Tyne – for Exercise Northern Star.
They faced simulated fires, casualties, storms, abandoning ship drills, alongside boat handling drills up and down the river, leading up to a combined practical exercise designed to test teamwork, leadership and operational readiness.
It’s the first time in many years that the Gateshead unit has successfully organised – and delivered – training at this scale: similar large-scale exercises for naval reservists are typically staged in southern England close to major Naval Bases and facilities.
As well as Calliope itself – which occupies a prime location on the south shore of the Tyne next to the iconic Millennium Bridge – facilities across the region were exploited to maximise the training opportunities, especially the Marine Offshore Safety Training Centre (MOST) in South Shields.
The latter is equivalent to the Royal Navy’s Havoc / Phoenix damage control complexes, with the added frisson of an ‘environmental pool’ – a swimming pool with a wave machine and the ability to recreate storms… indoors.
It allowed for some particularly realistic experiences for participants: tackling fires, lifeboat drills, sea survival skills. This provided valuable familiarisation for the reservists, providing reservists hands-on experience whilst also giving them a feel for the challenges and potential dangers they may face in an operational environment mobilised. This is aligned with the drive to ensure the entire Naval Service is warfighting ready.
HMS Calliope is proud to play its part as a hub for developing capable Maritime Reservists who are ready to contribute whenever they’re called upon
To spread the experience and knowledge and ensure a firm grounding in critical maritime skills, the attendees ‘rotated’ through varied serials, including emergency response drills, casualty care and waterborne operations.
“This weekend demonstrates exactly what Royal Navy Reserve units are designed to do: bring people together from across the region and deliver challenging, relevant training that directly supports the Royal Navy’s operational needs,” said Calliope’s Commanding Officer Commander David King.
“This was a great showcase of the resources, talent and experience we have in the Northeast.
In addition to the ‘technical’ aspects of the program, the programme reinforced the value of teamwork and leadership, bringing together personnel from different branches of the service, based at different units, at different stages of their careers.
For many participants, the weekend represented an opportunity to develop new skills, maintain operational readiness and build connections across the wider Reserve community.
“Being given responsibility for running the exercise was a great opportunity to put some of our leadership training into practice,” said Midshipman Whipple from HMS Calliope.
“The scenario challenged us to think clearly, communicate effectively and work as a team. It wasn’t easy, but everyone really got stuck in and it made for a really enjoyable and rewarding experience.”