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17-Jul-2007 |
        
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Welcome to our June newsletter. Each month of the deployment has had
different objectives and priorities. For example, May focussed on
demonstrating our operational capability in a major exercise. The
emphasis for this month was demonstrating Britain’s continuing
commitment to the Far East through five high profile port visits
including attending the International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX)
and training foreign personnel in Maritime Security Operations (MSO).
In summary, it has been another rewarding month for HMS MONMOUTH as we
approach the halfway mark of the deployment.
After an 11 day Self-Maintenance Period (SMP) at the Sembawang Wharves
in Singapore, the Black Duke sailed to the Naval Base at Changi for
IMDEX (Asia) ’07 with over forty guests embarked. This is the largest
biannual exhibition of its kind in Asia and was attended by 22 warships
representing 13 nations and numerous heads of navies including the First
Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band. To mark such an illustrious visit,
HMS MONMOUTH, as his Flagship, hosted an official reception on the
flight deck for over 400 guests. IMDEX is an ideal opportunity for
companies in the British Defence Industry to describe their products to
an international audience and use the Ship to demonstrate the capability
of the equipment. The Black Duke hosted numerous VIP tours and a
knowledgeable team from the Ship’s Company manned the stands in the
exhibition hall in order to provide first-hand accounts of the equipment
in action. IMDEX culminated in a Sports’ Olympiad with 20 countries
taking part. The closely fought sports included water polo, badminton
and a tug-of-war but sadly, and in a similar fashion to our national
team, the Ship’s Football Team was cruelly eliminated after a penalty
shoot-out in the semi-finals. After an overnight passage through the busy Malacca Straits HMS MONMOUTH sailed into Port Klang in Malaysia, better known as the nearest port to the capital, Kuala Lumpur. An Official Reception on the first evening was a suitable occasion to commemorate the 50-year relationship between Malaysia and the UK and over 100 guests attended the event. Sport played a major role as football, rugby and golf matches were contested against some talented opponents. A working party of ten was delighted to go to a small orphanage to rejuvenate their garden and pond. After a day’s hard work, the results were astounding and the children were thrilled. A productive acquaint by the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and head of Navy completed another successful visit, including a flight in the ship’s Merlin helicopter. The Kingdom of Brunei is a country in stark contrast to our visits before and after. Quiet and clean, with beautiful, untouched rainforests, the nation offered a welcome change for the Ship’s Company. Not all of the aspects were different though, the traditional Official Reception on the first evening allowed us to welcome some of the prominent Burundians onboard for an evening of British hospitality. In return, the Royal Bruneian Navy hosted a considerable group in their Officers’ Mess. Our visit was timed to coincide with the Brunei Defence Exhibition (BRIDEX), the first of its kind and the Merlin helicopter became the “star of the show” as it was parked directly outside the main exhibition entrance. Several of the Ship’s Company were fortunate to meet the Sultan of Brunei; although, much to their disappointment, none were lucky enough to be offered a job by the richest man in the world! Despite these important commitments, a small team was able to spend two nights in the stunning rainforest of Ulu Temburong National Park and even have the pleasure of watching the sunrise over the tree canopy.
The
visit by the Commander in Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET), Admiral Sir James
Burnell-Nugent, to HMS MONMOUTH raised our profile even further. In a
whistle-stop tour he visited important local dignitaries, the Senior
Officers’ Seminar, the Board and Search training and, of course, the
Black Duke herself. The two-day visit was a resounding success that
culminated in the Queen’s Official Birthday Party hosted by Her
Majesty’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr Charles Humfrey. Attended by the
Officers and the Ceremonial Guard, this lively event illustrated our
diplomatic role perfectly. Sailing in company with the TNI frigate NALA,
the ship was straight back into an eventful passage exercise as we
consolidated the training in Jakarta with further boardings on each
other. Finally, our visit to Surabaya continued all of the good work from Jakarta as we trained elements of the TNI Eastern Fleet in Board and Search training as well as a further Senior Officers’ Seminar. In addition, the TNI also gave us a lecture on their perspective of MSO in the Mallaca Straits, which was particularly useful in broadening our understanding of these fledgling operations. As you can see, June has been another hectic and rewarding month and I hope you will look forward to our next edition as we link up with our antipodean friends. Yours, Tim Peacock Cdr RN Commanding Officer HMS MONMOUTH
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Our
third transit through the Malacca Straits en route to Brunei was an
excellent opportunity to continue our Maritime
Security Operations. 80% of the world’s trade passes through just six
straits or canals and those of Mallaca are the busiest. On a daily
basis, HMS MONMOUTH contributes to the UK’s global approach to
anti-piracy and anti-terrorism upon the high seas in order to safeguard
merchant maritime trade. By monitoring the patterns of traffic and any
unusual activity, we are able to construct a detailed shipping picture
to improve our situational awareness of the region whilst being able to
respond to any incident.
The highlight of the passage south towards Indonesia was, without doubt,
passing through the equator for the first time in the deployment. For
many, this was the first time that they had “crossed the line” and so
King Neptune had a special treat for them. This ceremony, run by the
CPO’s Mess, is a centuries old tradition to welcome the new members to
King Neptune’s Court. The night prior to the crossing, the King and his
bears boarded the ship, after gaining permission from myself, and hunted
down their victims for the next day. The bears are a collection of the
largest and most grizzly Chiefs onboard and they like nothing more than
a reluctant rookie to root out from the Messdecks. The following
afternoon, each was treated to a rough shave, an oral injection of
dubious medical worth and a pill to spice up the mixture before a
collective dunking from the bears in front of cheering onlookers. This
highly enjoyable event was the perfect entertainment prior to the two
high-profile Indonesian visits.
After five days at sea, the Black Duke sailed into Jakarta for the
busiest visit so far. Following Prime Minister Tony Blair’s visit to
the country in 2006, HMS MONMOUTH was the next major official British
visit and, naturally, created plenty of press interest. During the
extended nine-day stay, the Ship was closely involved in many activities
with the Indonesian Navy (TNI) designed to improve their MSO
capabilities. In conjunction with Board and Search Instructors and
Royal Marines sent out from the UK, we trained the TNI in boardings
against cooperative and non-cooperative vessels. This included
classroom lectures, rope-access training from containers and exercises
onboard demonstrated by the Ship’s boarding teams. Concurrently,
members of the Ship’s Company led two days of seminars to senior
officers of the TNI on subjects including the UK’s contribution to MSO
and our Maritime Trade Operations. The conclusion of the seminars was a
tour of the ship followed by demonstrations from the Ship’s boarding
teams and the Royal Marines. Both the seminars and training were warmly
received and, over the period, we significantly strengthened our
relationship with the TNI, which would stand us in good stead for the
next two weeks. 