HMS Atherstone returns home from Gulf

The 800-tonne ship has seen five different crews over her time in the region. She made the 6,500-mile (10,500km) trip home after being relieved by sister ship HMS Middleton.

HMS Atherstone and her latest crew were welcomed home on Friday by sister ships HMS Cattistock, HMS Quorn and HMS Hurworth and the Collingwood Royal Marines Band.

During her time serving in the Gulf, HMS Atherstone was involved in a variety of tasks, with her main role being to support and reassure surrounding nations by providing security in their seas.

She was also an ideal platform from which the UK's mine warfare community could train and hone their warm-water skills.

Commanding Officer of HMS Atherstone, Lieutenant Commander Gordon Ruddock, said:

"All the team are immensely pleased to be returning to Portsmouth on Atherstone. This ship's company has been the longest serving on the ship while she has been in the Gulf and they are proud to have achieved so much and to have overcome so many challenges.

"The deployment to the Gulf and the return to the UK is testament to the resilience of even the smallest ships of the Royal Navy and our continued ability to deploy, sustain and recover units all over the world.

"The mission in the Middle East is enhancing the Service's warm-water mine warfare capability. It is also making an important contribution to regional stability, building capacity in Gulf Cooperation Council navies and affirming the UK's commitment to the region."

While on deployment, Atherstone also hosted representatives from a range of Gulf nations and held regular exercises at sea with coalition forces. One of these was Exercise Predatory Falcon where the mine hunter worked alongside Qatar Armed Forces off the coast of Doha.

Their mission included clearing the waters of dummy mines and manoeuvres with naval units, ending with an anti-piracy exercise which also involved the Coastguard and Royal Air Force.

Navigating Officer, Sub-Lieutenant Tom Wyatt, said he was looking forward to coming home after a busy deployment:

"We have been busy training mine countermeasures personnel but have also been heavily involved in regional engagements and exercises," he said. "We have all worked extremely hard and are looking forward to a few weeks of leave before we come back ready to start all over again."

While deployed, Atherstone's crew also engaged with communities in Pakistan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar, with activities ranging from hosting local school groups to entertaining high-ranking military officials.

After being relieved on station by HMS Middleton, Atherstone began her long passage home which included short stops in Oman and Djibouti and longer visits to Malta and Alicante.

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