HMS SOUTHAMPTON returns to port after eight months
Families await return of loved ones, for some after the longest period at sea...






 

Nearly eight months after passing Round Tower as she left Portsmouth, today HMS Southampton will pass the same landmark as she sails back in to her home port.

Waiting on the quayside in Portsmouth Dockyard will be the families of many of the Ship’s Company, some of whom will have travelled many miles to see their loved ones return from what, for many, will have been the longest time they have spent away from home.

During her deployment Southampton has visited fourteen countries, sailed in two oceans, and covered over 33,000 miles. She has trained with warships from Chile, Peru, France, Argentina and the United States, in addition to working alongside British forces based in the Falkland Islands.

As Southampton prepared to return to Portsmouth, the Commanding Officer, Commander Richard Morris commented: “The technical, logistical and human factors of operating a warship thousands of miles away from the UK for eight months are considerable. The successful conclusion of the deployment is a credit to the professionalism and dedication of the men and women who serve as Southampton’s Ship’s Company.”

The Ship will spend the early part of 2008 undergoing routine maintenance while the Ship’s Company will undertake continued training in order to prepare themselves and the Ship for her future programme.