HMS Trenchant the Nuclear Powered Trafalgar Class Submarine (SSGN 17) returned to Devonport today following a very busy year. Deployments to the North Atlantic, Mediterranean and more recently, East of Suez have kept the submarine almost consistently at sea or at immediate readiness for ten out of the last twelve months.
She sailed from Devonport in February 2008 and spent the next 5 months completing a variety of exercises and operational tasking, interspersed with visits to Bergen and Den Helder. This period included embarking 5 aspiring Submarine Commanding Officers, including one United States Naval officer, for the sea assessment phase of their Submarine Command Course.
Returning to base port in July 2008 for some mandatory maintenance and leave, the Ship’s Company soon learnt that the boat would be deploying to the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean regions for the Christmas period.
HMS Trenchant then headed down to the Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal and spent the next 4 months undertaking further tasking in much warmer climes. During this period, run’s ashore were enjoyed at Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and at Mahe in the Seychelles, in company with RFA Diligence.
The submarine passed many significant milestones during this deployment. In January 2009, she reached her twenty first anniversary since first commissioning the reactor and she has steamed more than half a million miles. Her Commanding Officer, Commander Kevin Gomm commented that the ability of the submarine to achieve such high levels of readiness throughout a very demanding operational programme in the last year is a tribute to the commitment, resilience and professionalism of the crew.
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