ORCs train in BGTW with Gibraltar Squadron

The Royal Navy’s Gibraltar Squadron and visiting troops conducted a high-speed training exercise in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters on Monday.

The exercise involved HMS Cutlass, HMS Dagger, two navy rigid-hulled inflatable boats and three Gibraltar Defence Police vessels, as well as two Royal Marine Offshore Raiding Craft, known as ORCs.

The ORCs are an unusual sight in Gibraltar but are normally used to provide escorts to nuclear submarines as they sail in and out of the Royal Navy base in Faslane, home to the UK’s nuclear deterrent fleet.

An MoD Spokesperson said: “The Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron routinely conduct training exercises to test their ability to respond to activity in the British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.”