Rain and dismal weather greeted the aircraft-carrier HMS Ark Royal on Thursday as she entered Grand Harbour on a four-day visit to coincide with the celebrations held on Friday to mark the 60th anniversary of Operation Pedestal.
A group of journalists were flown from Luqa airport onto HMS Ark Royal courtesy of the British High Commission by a Sea King helicopter to speak to the carrier's commanding officer, Captain Alan Massey, and Commodore Jamie Miller, ADC.
This is Captain Massey's third visit to Malta having been here in 1986 on HMS Brazen and in 1988. Commodore Miller too has close connections with Malta having visited the island seven times. He was last here on board Ark Royal in 1994 and considers the island as his "home".
Following the press conference on board, we were taken on deck as the Ark Royal, escorted by the Type 42 destroyer HMS Southampton, entered Grand Harbour with the crew lining the decks and the Royal Marine band playing local and British marches greeted by the cheers of the crowds lining the bastions.
The Ark Royal carries a total of 1,000 crew with an average age of 24, of whom a fifth are women.
HMS Ark Royal leaves Grand Harbour today to rejoin the Amphibious Task Group of ten Royal Navy ships, the Dutch assault vessel HNLMS Rotterdam and the Belgian frigate Westdip on a major UK-led maritime deployment named Argonaut 2002 being held off Naples.
The public had the opportunity to visit Ark Royal yesterday and see her Sea Harrier jets and Sea King helicopters and get a glimpse of life on board an aircraft-carrier.
HMS Ark Royal can hold up to 24 aircraft, including FA2 Sea Harriers, RAF GR7 Harriers, Sea King MK7 AEW helicopters and the new Merlin MPH MK1 anti-submarine helicopters. HMS Ark Royal is expected to remain in active service until 2015. Her plans are to return to the UK by November, and Malta is a welcome break for the crew.
Both previous ships of the same name were lost during World War II assisting in the defence of Malta.
Ark Royal was torpedoed in the Mediterranean in November 1941 after flying Hurricane reinforcements for the island. The Southampton was sunk by German bombers making their debut in the Central Mediterranean in January 1941 within hours of her disembarking troops in Grand Harbour.
Operation Pedestal consisted of a convoy of 14 merchantmen accompanied by a huge British naval escort to bring to Malta much needed food, fuel and spare parts. Only five of the merchant ships survived the enemy's onslaught.