4 NAVY NEWS, MAY 2007
HERE at Navy News towers we like to reduce things to
their simplest forms.
So to sum up what HMS Blyth has been up to recently, four words
will suffi ce.
Suck, squeeze, bang, blow..
The Bahrain-based minehunter was invited by the Americans to join
them for FAWOMOX: Find A Way or Make One Exercise involving the
considerable US mine warfare presence in the Gulf.
Blyth joined three American mine countermeasures vessels, US Ships
Ardent, Gladiator and Scout, plus four Super Stallion helicopters, on a
hunt for mines in bad weather.
The nine-day war games were intended to pave the way for a (fi ctitious)
US carrier to operate safely in the region.
And to that end Blyth’s sailors went into defence watches (six hours
on, six hours off) as the small ship was battered by winds up to 65kts and
endured some fearsome (and mesmerising) electrical storms.
The Sea Stallions towed side-scan minehunting sonars behind them,
while the ships moved in to investigate contacts.
Blyth found – and recovered – two moored mines, while disposed of
(or blew up) two mines on the sea bed.
Okay, that’s the bang bit.
The ‘blow’ came when mine cases fl oated to the surface once their
sinkers had been destroyed and needed exploding.
The squeeze? Well, that was the hyperbaric effect on the ship’s divers
as they investigated the contacts in the Gulf waters (not everything can
be done by the ship’s yellow robot submarines).
And the suck? The ship drew fuel from the USNS Walter S Diehl – the
fi rst time a Sandown-class warship has topped up at sea courtesy of an
American tanker.
The Diehl proved extremely expedient. Rather than spend 12 hours
returning to Bahrain to refuel, Blyth conducted the replenishment at sea
in an effortless two hours.
Sadly, Blyth’s sister ship HMS Ramsey – the other half of Task Force
Aintree – missed out on the snap, crackle and pop fun as she was receiving
an overhaul in Bahrain.
As Navy News was going to press, another major exercise was being
lined up for the duo: Arabian Gauntlet.
US, British, French and Pakistani mine warfare forces are all
committed to the war game, while observers from 14 other nations were
due to watch the progress of the international force.
Gauntlet was to be the last act by the Blyth/Ramsey crews (though not
ash of an electrical storm in the Gulf (her CO assures us the ship was a lot
their ships) as they are returning home early this month while the crews
● Flashed with success... HMS Blyth silhouetted against the fl
further from the fork lightning than this photograph suggests)
of Penzance and Pembroke take their place for the next six months.
Bomb expert
sh ‘n’ ships
Farewell to
throws in
the Far East
the trowel
A diet of fi
A MARATHON deployment to
the Far East is drawing to a close
NAVY bomb disposal experts
TWO British warships
and to offer their input to more ‘challenging’ weeks, before the The new berth at the
for survey ship HMS Echo as she
blew up a wartime mine joined Allied navies on a
than 50 experts from across Mersey sailors were allowed to Science Centre is anything but
makes her way slowly westwards.
unearthed on a building site in
sweep of the North Sea
the European Union eager to let their hair down in Glasgow traditional.
The great cities of Singapore
a Plymouth… with a little help
maintain fishing stocks in these – after negotiating the three- It’s dominated by a 100-metre
and Kuala Lumpur (via her
from a garden trowel.
and English Channel, waters – and determined to
hour transit of the Clyde to tall viewing platform which
docks at Port Klang) were the last
Builders uncovered the
the prelude to a major
see that transgressions by
their berth. offered some unique views of
Far Eastern ports of call – and
70kg (154lb) Luftwaffe mine European conference to
fishermen were appropriately
Visits to Scotland are fairly the River-class vessel.
mightily popular ones too.
in Brentnor Road in the
discuss fi shing stocks.
dealt with.
rare for the Fishery Protection Like Tyne, Mersey has also
The Devonport-based
Cattedown district of the city and
“It’s vital that fishery
HMS Tyne joined Holland’s
Squadron; the Scottish been working with the Dutch
hydrographics vessel spent six
immediately raised the alarm.
protection is even-handed in
Barend Biesheubel in the
Government conducts patrols ship Barend Biesheubel.
days apiece in the two ports
The on-call team from
North Sea and eastern
European waters,” said David
in its own waters. She exchanged Lt Tom
for a mixture of down-time,
Southern Diving Unit 1, based
Channel, while Tyne’s sister
Holliday, operations director at
Mersey became the first RN Williams and S/Lt Ben Martin
refurbishment, survey work and
at Devonport, was in Wales on
Severn worked with France’s
the Marine Fisheries Agency.
vessel to tie up at Glasgow’s for two Dutch inspectors which
goodwill visits.
another alert (which turned out
Themis in an operation run by
“We want fishermen to be
new Science Centre – second allowed the respective ships
In Singapore, Echo used her
to be a false alarm).
the Marine Fisheries Agency
assured that every effort is being
only to the Science Museum in to operate in their counter-
specialist survey motor boat to
So it fell to off-duty Lt Mark
who monitored progress via
made to treat all nationalities
London in size and number of part’s waters – effectively
conduct a detailed study of the
Northcote who was called
satellite from its headquarters
exactly the same.”
visitors it draws – as she tested encompassing the entire
Sembawang wharves.
in from leave to inspect the
in London.
Meanwhile, the third of the
the berth at Princes Dock. southern North Sea.
In Malaysia, she worked closely
unexploded warhead.
The joint crackdown
River-class fishery protection
with the local navy, whose senior
So chuffed were the centre In the past some trawlermen
By the time he reached the
unfortunately coincided with
vessels, HMS Mersey, has also
offi cers and cadets were given a
bosses and Glasgow Port have attempted to evade
scene, police had established a
inclement weather – despite
been battered by the elements.
thorough tour of the hi-tech ship.
Authority to see Mersey that boardings by scurrying for UK
Some of Echo’s crew were
cordon around the site, evacuated
swapping fishery officers and
The Portsmouth-based
they cut away a section of steel or Dutch waters.
given a VIP tour of the Petronas
homes and asked those residents
observers among vessels, the
warship arrived on the Clyde
railings to make way for the A busy spell of fishery
Towers, the world’s tallest twin
not evacuated to open their
quartet were able to conduct
for a spell of Operational Sea
ship’s gangway. protection work closed with a
structure, which dominate the
windows to reduce the possible
just one boarding during the
Training, but only after she was
Several new berths have trip up her namesake river to
Kuala Lumpur skyline.
effects of the blast should the
combined operations.
hounded by hurricane-force
replaced the traditional spot for her affiliated borough of Sefton
… and some of Echo’s sailors
mine go off.
With the sweep over, the
winds in the Irish Sea, with
visiting warships in Glasgow, on Merseyside for five days of
played in the shadow of the
Lt Northcote borrowed a
vessels headed up the
gusts of up to 75mph battering
Yorkhill Quay (although several catching up with good causes,
towers, taking on staff from the
garden trowel from a resident to
Thames to Chatham for
the small ship at times.
historic cranes continue to line community projects and civic
British High Commission on the
begin initial investigations while
a break from patrols
OST lasted for three
the Clyde waterfront). leaders.
football pitch.
his colleagues raced back from
From Port Klang, Echo
Wales with more orthodox bomb
made the short hop to the Royal
disposal kit.
Malaysian Navy’s principal base,
Usually, disposal teams take
Lumut, which is set against an
an unexploded device out to sea
impressively lush green backdrop,
and detonate it in a controlled
to host senior Malaysian offi cers,
explosion.
while Echo’s sailors were invited
But the junior officer said
aboard a Malaysian survey vessel.
the bomb had to be rendered
safe there and then – and blown
up later once its fuse had been
All go on Eddie
neutralised.
“This was the first time I had HMS Edinburgh has been
had to deal with an explosive in exercising with Falklands
situ with the potential to detonate guardship HMS Dumbarton
at any time in such a congested Castle as her sailors get used to
urban area,” said Lt Northcote. slightly unfamiliar surroundings.
“We had no option but to The ship is crewed entirely
deal with it there – the fuse had by HMS Exeter’s sailors, who
been corroded and we could not swapped places with their
remove it.” colleagues in the South Atlantic.
The officer used a hand drill to Edinburgh is a stretched Type
render the fuse safe, pouring in 42 destroyer; Exeter is older
water to keep it cool as years of and more stubby with different
erosion and corrosion made the kit aboard, so an intense period
detonating mechanism unstable. of training has been required
Finally, the fuse was filled with a – under the guidance of a mobile
neutralising agent and made safe. team from the Flag Officer Sea
There was, of course, still the Training – to earn the sailors a
small matter of the bomb to ‘tick in the box’ for front-line
dispose of. It was carefully taken duties (which they duly earned).
to Queen Anne’s Battery, loaded With the FOSTies gone,
on to a boat and taken out to sea Edinburgh conducted gunnery
where it was blown up by the and helicopter drills with ● HMS Tyne leads her sister Severn towards Chatham for the European fi sheries conference
SDU1 team.
Picture: LA(Phot) Alex Cave, FRPU Whale Island
Dumbarton Castle.
0004_NN_May.indd 104_NN_May.indd 1 117/4/07 17:18:327/4/07 17:18:32
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57