Latest Royal Navy News
Following extensive maintenance in Gibraltar, the offshore patrol vessel is now back to fighting fitness.
The third of five second-generation River-class ships Trent is permanently forward deployed to the Mediterranean and Africa to work with allies, uphold maritime security and fly the flag for the UK and Royal Navy.
Since late May, Trent has been back at sea, her 40-strong ship’s company bringing her back to life and demonstrating her readiness to assessors from Fleet Operational Standard and Training who first determined the crew were qualified to take the 2,000-tonne warship back to sea… and are back this month to prepare the crew for their next operational patrol.
That patrol will take the ship back to West Africa – a repeat of her summer/autumn mission in 2021 – with Trent and an embarked team of Royal Marines from 42 Commando training military and law enforcement agencies in the region and learning about the ‘pattern of life’ in the area of operations, crucial if you’re to root out terrorists/pirates/smugglers among the hundreds of boats and ships going about their lawful daily business.
Equally important to understanding traffic off the Iberian Peninsula and Africa’s western seaboard is the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (MAOC) in Lisbon.
With the ship berthed in Portugal’s capital the command team led by Commander Tim Langford, Trent’s Commanding Officer, headed to the headquarters, whose focus is on the illegal trafficking of drugs in the North and South Atlantic.
MAOC staff highlighted the tracking routes and methods currently used in the North and South Atlantic, where Trent will be operating in the coming year and discuss recent operations; a direct comms link will be established between the ship and HQ.
