HMS Portland to visit

HMS Portland is visiting Malta between Saturday and Wednesday.

A Devonport based Type 23 Frigate, the HMS Portland left her home port of Plymouth in November and deployed to the Middle East, where she has been operating as part of a coalition task force carrying out successful anti-piracy and regional security operations in the northern Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa.

During her near eight-month deployment, the ship has visited Gibraltar, Crete, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India and Jordan.

It has taken part in several multi-national exercises and conducted numerous operations with her coalition partners, drawn from navies across the world. The ship and her crew have enjoyed a high level of success during operations, the majority of which were unreported for operational security reasons.

The deployment has been challenging and rewarding with the ship drawing praise from all the partners she has worked with.

Her Commanding Officer, Cdr Tim Henry, said:

"The deployment has been successful because of the sheer hard work from, and quality of, my ship’s company.

"They have worked tirelessly in often unforgiving temperatures and, without fail, have achieved a level of effectiveness that is second to none. While we are all looking forward to getting home we are delighted to have the opportunity to visit Malta, a country that has such strong links with the Royal Navy."