Sailors help major evacuation effort

BUT if you’re thinking ‘HMS Cumberland’ or 'HMS York' and ‘Libya’ you’d be wrong.

No, these are Britons caught up in the latest unrest between Ginger and Brownia. Saving their bacon is the good ship Albion, which has dispatched her landing craft to ‘Freeport’ to evacuate them.

The Brownian enclave of Freeport is actually Wilsons Beach, just around the corner from Weston Mill Lake Jetty (hence the unmistakable outline of HMS Ocean in the background).

It was just one of four points around the Plymouth area selected for the mock evacuation as HMS Albion’s pre-deployment training reached its climax.

The nation’s flagship has spent the opening weeks of 2011 enjoying ‘top-up training’ courtesy of the Flag Officer Sea Training before she leads the RN’s task force deployment of the year to the Med and beyond, Exercise Cougar.

The climax of that training was a simulated NEO – non-combatant evacuation operation – from a conflict-ravaged foreign state… something long practised by ships passing through FOST, but given additional relevance in the light of current events in North Africa.

In the latest dry run, helicopters and landing craft were despatched to Jupiter Point, Turnchapel, Wacker Quay (near Antony) and Treluggan boatyard (in Saltash) to round up the scattered civilians – somewhat to the bemusement of locals who woke to a lot of military activity on an otherwise ordinary March morning.

Once collected, the evacuees were taken to a central evacuation point on Wilsons Beach at Bull Point, where green berets from Alpha Company 40 Cdo had been landed to provide security for landing craft to ferry the civvies to Albion.

Aboard the assault ship the evacuees received food, accommodation and medical attention before onward passage once more, this time to RFA Mounts Bay so Albion could resume more warlike operations.

“Albion’s unique capabilities – as a floating headquarters that can also land a military force at a time and place of our choosing – mean we are the perfect platform for a wide range of military or humanitarian operations,” said her CO Capt James Morley.

With the FOSTies happy with Albion’s performance, they declared the assault ship ready for operations of any sort, at any time, anywhere around the world.

After a brief spot of maintenance in her home port of Devonport, she’s due to leave the UK next month in company with HMS Sutherland inter alia as Cougar kicks off.

York delivers aid to Benghazi and prepares to evacuate last Britons

TONS of medical aid has arrived in war-torn Benghazi aboard HMS York as the destroyer arrived for the latest stage of the civilian evacuation.

York sailed into the eastern Libyan port late this morning in the third rescue sortie carried out by the Royal Navy since the unrest in the North African nation became critical.

HMS Cumberland has already ferried more than 400 civilians – including in excess of 100 Brits – safely from rebel-held Benghazi to Grand Harbour.

Estimates suggest there are still 150 UK citizens in the country and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s warden on the ground in Benghazi, Thomas Smith, has been trying to round them up so York can carry them to safety.

The destroyer also delivered aid to Benghazi, including donations from the Swedish Government, such as needles, syringes, surgical gloves and bandages for the city’s medical centre.

The aid was due to be supplied by air, but the city’s airport is out of action following last month’s fighting; the destroyer offered to carry the cargo instead.

York – diverted into the Med on her way to the South Atlantic to begin a Falklands patrol – was ordered to Malta at the weekend to support the RAF-RN-Foreign Office relief mission to evacuate Britons stuck in crisis-torn Libya.

After refuelling in Grand Harbour, which has become the hub of the maritime rescue mission, she was sent to North Africa to collect “any remaning British nations who wish to leave”.

“The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is asking anyone who is able safely to get to Benghazi to do so now,” urged a spokesman

Cumberland goes 'beyond the call of duty' to rescue civilians in Libya

HMS Cumberland is due back in Malta today after her second rescue mission to save foreigners caught up in Libya’s spiralling civil war.

Some 200 civilians – many of them oil workers from refineries in eastern Libya – boarded the frigate in driving rain in rebel-held Benghazi yesterday.

The port is the focal point of the international evacuation effort and several hundred Britons are still thought to be spread across the country.

Most have been brought home by a combined Foreign Office-military rescue mission, Operation Deference, with charter planes bringing home Brits from Tripoli and RAF Hercules swooping into the desert to collect oil workers.

In the Royal Navy’s case, HMS York has been diverted from her voyage to the Falklands and is in Grand Harbour awaiting instructions.

As for Cumberland, she picked up 69 Britons and 138 civilians of other nationalities on her first trip to Benghazi on Thursday.

It was the small hours of Saturday before the warship reached Malta after a very rough crossing of the Mediterranean.

“It was a very tiring journey,” said evacuee Phil Douglas from Craigo, near Montrose, “but under the circumstances it was fantastic.”

The oil worker was full of praise for his rescuers.

“Many people in the Royal Navy have gone beyond the call of duty to help civilians stranded far from the UK. I can’t fault their performance in any way,” he added.

“Everyone looked after us absolutely superbly, the food was very very good, better than we get in the desert, so we were very happy.”

Throughout the crossing, the Fighting Sausage’s sailors provided food, water and medical attention to the men, women and children rescued from Benghazi.

“I am very proud of the way the entire ship’s company reacted to this challenge,” Capt Steve Dainton, Cumberland’s Commanding Officer, told his men and women after the first run to Benghazi.

“It has been hard work, but thank you for your superb performance, well done.”

One of Cumberland's leading hands carries a girl evacuated from Benghazi ashore in Malta. Picture: Cpl Randall, RLC

Cumberland arrives in Benghazi to begin evacuation of Brits

HMS Cumberland has arrived in the Libyan port of Benghazi to evacuate stranded Britons.

The frigate, which broke off her return journey at the end of a six-month deployment east of Suez, is preparing to embark upwards of 100 Britons trapped in Libya's second city as the North African state descends into anarchy.

An estimated 50-100 British citizens are believed to be stuck in the east of the country, where Libyans have thrown off the shackles off Colonel Gaddafi’s regime.

Cumberland arrived off the port this morning as the British Government sought permission for her to enter harbour. That was given and shortly after mid-day UK time the frigate arrived in Benghazi.

The Foreign Office has been encouraging Britons in eastern Libya to make for the port. Cumberland will take what citizens it can and sail for Valetta in Malta.

Although RAF Hercules and civilian charter planes have been dispatched to the Libyan capital Tripoli, no such option was available in Benghazi's case: the runways are believed to have been damaged during fighting between rebel and government forces.

Aside from the 100 Britons reckoned to be in Benghazi, a similar number are believed to be scattered across sites and towns in the Western Desert.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Government was "taking every action to get the remaining British nationals in Libya out of harm's way". Those Britons were, said Mr Hague, "in a perilous and frightening situation".

Around five dozen civilians (and one dog) were picked up from Tripoli by the RAF and are heading for Malta as part of the evacuation measures.

Cumberland sent to Libya as crisis deepens

HMS Cumberland is today on stand-by in the Mediterranean as civil unrest in Libya worsens.

The frigate was ordered to international waters off the North African state yesterday as Whitehall became increasingly concerned by the uprising against Colonel Gaddafi's regime – and the dictator's threats to clamp down hard on the rebels.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said Cumberland was being "pre-positioned" off the Libyan coast should an evacuation of British citizens be necessary.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office estimates there are several hundred Britons in Libya presently – and it is looking to bring them home by air or sea.

In the case of Cumberland, the frigate is returning from the Gulf and Horn of Africa as her six-month tour of duty east of Suez – her final deployment; the ship was axed under last year's defence review – comes to an end.

As she's a warship, Mr Hague said permission would be sought for the Fighting Sausage to enter Libyan waters should the need for a seaborne evacuation arise.

In the meantime, Mr Hague called on the Libyan Government to protect foreign nationals and to end the violence against its own people.

"The safety of British nationals in Libya is of paramount concern to us," he stressed. "We are appalled by the levels of violence unleashed by the Libyan Government in recent days. The situation in Libya is worsening and it remains highly unpredictable."

Frigates work together for the final time

In the foreground HMS Cumberland. Beyond her, her sister HMS Cornwall.

Never again will two Type 22 frigates work together on operations – in this case safeguarding the troubled waters east of Suez.

Both are conducting their final deployments: the Fighting Sausage initially in the Gulf, now outside it; Cornwall as the flagship of Combined Task Force 151 keeping pirates under the thumb off the Horn of Africa.

All four 22s were axed under last year’s defence review: HMS Chatham has already paid off, Campbeltown is due to decommission imminently.

Their two remaining sisters are now working in tandem in the Gulf of Oman against the ever-present threat of piracy in the busy shipping lanes between Somalia and the coasts of Iran and Pakistan. 

There was still time for a brief break from maritime security operations for this last, historic photo opportunity to produce some iconic imagery for the respective ship’s companies.

“Both of these ships have served our country well over more than 20 years in service,” said Capt Steve Dainton who is, understandably, “extremely proud” to be Cumberland’s last Commanding Officer.

“The name ‘Cumberland’ has been in use almost continuously for RN warships since 1695, with this ship being the sixteenth to bear the name: she has a proud lineage.  So I hope that, in time, there will be another HMS Cumberland.

“In the meantime, we continue to focus on the task in hand before we return to the UK in the spring.  As you’ll have seen in the news, the pirates are very active and an increasing threat: never has our job out here been more important to UK energy and trade interests in the region.”

A series of events will be held onboard in Devonport on the frigate’s return to mark Cumberland’s passing including a reception and dinner for former COs, a reception for ship’s company past and present,  and finally the decommissioning ceremony on May 26.

Royal Navy Frigate Continues to Support French Carrier in Gulf

HMS Cumberland has continued her operations over the Christmas and New Year period in support of the Frenchaircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle by escorting her through the Strait of Hormuz early Boxing Day morning (26 December 2010).

While most people in Britain were sleeping off the Christmas Day excess, HMS Cumberland led the French carrier group through the vital Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf.

The British frigate had been acting in support of Charles de Gaulle in the Indian Ocean while she conducted air operations into Afghanistan over the Christmas period. Cumberland's duties with the French will continue in the Gulf.

Cumberland's Christmas tasking afforded her crew little opportunity to relax and enjoy the festivities, although, in traditional fashion, roast turkey and all the trimmings was served to the sailors by Cumberland's Captain and officers. Captain Steve Dainton, Captain of HMS Cumberland, said:

"Cumberland's tasking in support of Charles de Gaulle over Christmas has demonstrated the longstanding and close working relationship between the French Navy and us.

"The Strait of Hormuz is a vital sea lane and Cumberland has been tasked to assist in the provision of security for the French carrier. This is a task we have already provided for other high value shipping since we've been on task in the area."

Cumberland is a versatile multi-role frigate, and is as much at home providing support to the carrier as she has been providing a reassuring presence to peaceful maritime use of the Gulf since the beginning of November 2010.

She assumed responsibility as the on-watch Gulf frigate from HMS Somerset on 31 October 2010.

Since then, she has been employed conducting energy security patrols in the Gulf, ensuring the safety of critical energy supply routes for the UK and her allies. She has also been tasked with the protection of the Al Basra oil platform in Iraqi territorial waters.

Some 80 per cent of Iraq's GDP is pumped through the terminal and into waiting oil tankers which then pass through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz.

HMS Cumberland will remain on task in the Gulf until well into the New Year. She is due to return home to Devonport in March prior to decommissioning in the summer as part of savings following the Strategic Defence and Security Review. She sailed from the UK on 30 September 2010.