HMS Medway docks in Gibraltar after Falklands deployment

The Royal Navy’s River Class offshore patrol vessel HMS Medway sailed into Gibraltar on Wednesday morning after completing a nine-month stint in the Falkland Islands.

The ship traded places with its sister-vessel HMS Forth, which sailed to the Falklands last October after undergoing major maintenance work in drydock in Gibraltar.

The Falklands deployment is focused on reassurance and support for the island community, visiting the outlying hamlets, settlements and individual farms and conducting joint training with RAF, Army and authorities on a host of tasks including search and rescue support, fishery protection and general maritime security in the area.

HMS Medway spent 105 days on patrol around the Falklands and neighbouring South Georgia, adding more than 16,500 nautical miles – equivalent so sailing three quarters of the way around the globe – to her tachometer.

The vessel is due to return to the Caribbean, its normal area of operations, but will also undergo a period of maintenance following its time in the punishing environment of the South Atlantic.

Once back in the Caribbean, she will resume regular patrols supporting British citizens in the Caribbean’s overseas territories, working with allies on counter-narcotic operations and being on hand to offer support in the event of natural disasters such as hurricanes.