The Royal Navy’s HMS Dragon sailed into the Grand Harbour yesterday, the first of its kind to visit the island.
The state-of-the-art Type 45 D anti-air defence destroyer, which was commissioned in 2012 and is the fourth of six in its class, is returning from its first operation in the Persian Gulf.
Deployed in March, with a 210-member crew of an average age of 21 – a quarter of whom are women – the HMS Dragon will return to its home port in Portsmouth later this month.
The prime role of the ship is to protect British and Allied forces against enemy aircraft and missiles. It measures more than 152 metres in length, is 21.2 metres wide and displaces 7,800 tonnes.
It will be berthed at Pinto Wharf until Wednesday and is open to the public today between 11.30am and 5pm.
During a press visit yesterday, Captain Ian Lower said it was “very special” to sail in on Remembrance Day.
As the ship was approaching the island, a Remembrance Service was held on the ship in the morning, with excerpts read from Nicholas Monsarrat’s book about when the HMS Illustrious left Malta in 1940, he said.
“It just reminded me of the strong links that exist between Malta and the UK, in particular the Royal Navy. It’s a real honour to be the first captain of a Type 45 to come into Malta,” he added.
The captain said this first operation was “pretty tough”.
“We sailed from the UK back in March and we’ve spent most of our time in the Persian Gulf, with temperatures right up to the 40s.
“It was a tough task for a really new crew of that age. What I’ve enjoyed most and what I’ve gotten the most satisfaction from is seeing this new crew on a new ship with all this great new technology, all blend in together as part of a team. Now we’re on the way home and we can look back at a successful operation,” he told Times of Malta.
The Type 45 is the world’s first fully integrated, all electric propulsion front-line warship with an onboard power plant capable of generating 47 megawatts – easily enough to power Valletta.
Junior sailors are accommodated in six-berth cabins instead of larger mess decks as in older ships. The HMS Dragon also has more space for recreation, including eight TVs, three bars and sofa-style seating.