Friends and families wave goodbye as HMS Portland leaves Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth for a seven-month deployment to the South Atlantic
[Picture: LA(Phot) Victoria Benwell, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
Devonport-based HMS Portland will take over from HMS York, a Type 42 destroyer, which has been on routine patrol in the area.
The deployment is referred to as Atlantic Patrol (South) - the standing naval commitment to provide a frigate or destroyer and a Royal Fleet Auxiliary support vessel to the South Atlantic and West African regions.
The patrol ship provides a maritime presence to protect the UK's interests in the region. She acts as a reassurance to UK overseas territories and Commonwealth and other friendly nations.
The Atlantic patrol is responsible for maintaining British sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, including South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
A vessel is present in the Falkland Islands area for the majority of the year - including throughout the southern winter.