Enhancing Britain’s presence in the Indo-Pacific region
Patrol ships HMS Tamar and Spey have recently left Portsmouth as they embarked on their five year deployment to the Indo-Pacific region
Over the next five years, the deployment of HMS Tamar and Spey to the Indo-Pacific will see a bolstered British presence in the region. This comes on the back of the maiden deployment by HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Carrier Strike Group which have spent several months working alongside the UK’s allies and partners in the region.
The two warships have sailed on a mission which will see them deployed across a vast area, from the eastern shores of Africa to the west coast of the USA for the next five years.
HMS Tamar and Spey are two of the Royal Navy’s five new Offshore Patrol Vessels built to replace the current River Class vessels.
They will act as the eyes and ears of the Navy, working alongside Britain’s allies, carrying out security patrols to deal with drug-running, smuggling, terrorism and other illegal activities, joining in exercises with other navies and armed forces, and flying the flag for Global Britain.
We spoke to personnel onboard HMS Tamar prior to their Indo-Pacific deployment in our podcast, Fancy a Brew?👇
No permanent home has been assigned to the Patrol Vessels. Instead they will make use of bases and ports in the Pacific region which best meets their needs and mission.
Their patrol area embraces both the Indian and Pacific oceans, extending as far north as the Bering Sea and south to the foot of Tasmania and New Zealand.
“Two-thirds of the world is our playground. We are going to places that the Royal Navy has not visited in a long time, that’s really exciting.”
— HMS Spey’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Ben Evans
Each ship is crewed by 46 sailors, with half the crew trading places with shipmates from the UK every few weeks. The constant rotation allows the Navy to get the most out of the ships, with the crews at sea for up to nine months of the year.
“The opportunity to go to the Indo-Asia Pacific offers an exciting opportunity that very few in the newest generation of Royal Navy sailors have had the chance to partake in. It will be an amazing experience.”
— Leading Weapons Engineer Twidell, serving in HMS Tamar.
