Crew of Royal Navy’s newest destroyer prepares for east of Suez deployment

HMS Daring will leave its home base of Portsmouth, Hampshire, today for a seven-month mission to the Middle East where it will be used for anti-piracy operations.

The warship is the first of the six new Type 45 destroyers which are being introduced to the fleet.

HMS Daring will be taking over from a frigate on station east of Suez, where it will continue counter-piracy measures as well as providing general backup for the UK’s operations and allies in the region.

Preparations for the deployment have included extensive training which culminated in an eight- week operational sea training course.

The ship and crew passed this with flying colours back in November.

Commanding officer Captain Guy Robinson said: “Although this is very much a routine deployment, we must recognise that as first of class, it marks a significant milestone for the Type 45 Destroyer and the Royal Navy.

“The ship’s company, and everyone who supports us ashore, have worked tirelessly over the last year to reach this point.

“We are now very much looking forward to the deployment where we can contribute to maritime security in the region as well as demonstrating Daring’s broad capabilities to our allies.

“This first operational deployment for Type 45 will present many challenges for my team but we are confident that our recent training has fully prepared us.” HMS Daring, the first of the Type 45 destroyers, was commissioned in July 2009, followed byHMS Dauntless and HMS Diamond.

HMS Dragon arrived at Portsmouth in September last year ahead of its sea readiness training, with all six (including HMS Defender and HMS Duncan) scheduled to be in service by the middle of the decade.

The Royal Navy is having to cope with spending cuts which will result in the loss of several warships and thousands of personnel.