Sailors from the submarine hunter were greeted by friends and family as she sailed back into His Majesty’s Naval Base Devonport after a mission that began in December—cutting short Christmas leave—and saw her sail 18,000 nautical miles.
Most of those miles were in home waters – the English Channel and the North Sea—as HMS Somerset maintained stability and security in UK waters, closely monitoring Russian ships as they sailed back to Baltic ports from Syria.
Commander Joel Roberts, Commanding Officer of Type 23, beamed with pride as Somerset’s 200-strong ship’s company was reunited with their loved ones following a deployment that started on Christmas Day when they recalled from their festive breaks to monitor a Russian task group heading through the North Sea.
Cdr Roberts said: “After many months away, it is with immense pride and joy that I welcome our return home from a successful deployment.
“The ship’s company has demonstrated unwavering commitment and professionalism in carrying out vital operations throughout UK sensitive waters and Northern Europe, from shadowing Russian naval activity to engaging with our allies and partners during exercises and operations.
“Our presence has made a real and tangible difference in delivering UK national security objectives and reinforcing NATO’s mission of collective security, unity, and deterrence.
“The work we have done, often in challenging conditions, has directly contributed to regional stability and reinforced the strength of our alliances.
“I want to be clear in acknowledging that none of this would have been possible without the extraordinary support of our families, friends, and loved ones at home.
“Your patience, strength, and encouragement have been the backbone of our resilience throughout this deployment, and to all of them I offer my heartfelt thanks.
“It has been an honor to lead such a dedicated and professional team, and I have great pride in each member of the ship’s company for their service.
“We return home stronger, closer, and with a deep sense of accomplishment for the role we’ve played in defending our shared values and protecting UK interests.
“As we return to our home port, it’s now time to reunite with loved ones and all those who have supported us before enjoying some well-earned leave.”
Since they were activated on Christmas Day, Somerset has been tasked with monitoring Russian task groups six times—that’s a mission every two and a half weeks—and this includes shadowing corvettes, landing, cargo, and support ships, as well as the intelligence-gathering vessel Yantar.
But the ship has also operated closely with NATO allies and made several port visits, including in Den Helder in the Netherlands, Bergen and Stavanger in Norway, Zeebrugge in Belgium and Hamburg in Germany, while also stopping in Clyde Naval Base, North Shields and Aberdeen in the UK.
Twice the ship opened her gangway to the public. Once in North Shields before welcoming more than 1,000 people in one day during an event in Hamburg.
The ship’s Merlin helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron spent 100 hours on sorties, gathering vital information on Russian ships but also tracking and simulating attacks on allied submarines during two weeks in the Norwegian Fjords on Exercise Arctic Dolphin.
Submariners were undertaking the equivalent of the Royal Navy’s Perisher course—officially the Submarine Command Course—a punishing training process to become a front-line commander of a boat.
Somerset and her Merlin hunted and charged full speed at allied submarines during the exercise to push hopeful commanders to the limit, testing trainee captains as they attempted to qualify for front-line command but also to develop the ship’s own ability to detect, track, and classify adversaries beneath the waves.
