NAVY NEWS, SEPTEMBER 2011


3


TURNING at speed, the Black Duke makes haste for the last reported position of a stricken merchant ship under attack from pirates in the Red Sea.


Minutes later Black Knight – HMS Monmouth’s


Lynx Mk8 helicopter, from which this impressive aerial shot was taken – was on the scene... and a hijack attempt by marauders had been thwarted. In the fading light of an August afternoon, Monmouth’s specialist boarding team of Royal Marines Commandos searched the MV Caravos Horizon and freed the crew. The Devonport-based frigate had been 90 miles


away when the distress call went out and was immediately ordered by Combined Task Force 151 – one of the Coalition naval forces maintaining security in the waters east of Suez – to make best speed. Sixty miles from the merchantman’s last


reported position, Black Knight was flashed up and headed off to help Caravos Horizon. The 24 Filipino crew of the Maltese-flagged


and Greek-owned vessel had reported that six men had stormed the 63,000-tonne bulk carrier; they immediately fell back on the ‘citadel’ – an impregnable part of the ship. Although the crew were safe, they had no idea


what was happening on the rest of the vessel – which is where Monmouth’s Lynx came in. “Having heard about the distress of the Caravos Horizon, we urgently launched to assess the threat to the merchant vessel and to provide real-time information to Monmouth,” explained Lynx pilot Lt Chris Easterbrook.


“We stood off at a distance, relaying the current situation and taking photographs and video footage to aid the Commanding Officer’s decision- making process. “We had to make sure that we understood the situation onboard fully, in order to determine what level of threat the boarding team may face once embarked.” While Monmouth was approaching the scene,


her ops room team were working with the nearby American assault ship USS Bataan. The latter launched a MH-60S helicopter to assist and conduct a survey of the wider area.


coming in, there appeared to be no sign of the attackers; only a ladder over the side of MV Caravos Horizon was spotted. It was at this point that Monmouth’s


Analysing all the reports that were


vessel before last light. We were able to achieve this with some very quick planning and the use of the RN boarding team to bolster our numbers.” As soon as it became clear that the attackers


had fled, the boarding team freed the crew from their refuge and handed control of the vessel back to the master. “My entire ship’s company responded with


able to provide some medical treatment to improve his symptoms. Given the remoteness of the location and the time it would have taken for him to get to a hospital, it was decided to transfer him to our medical facilities onboard Monmouth,” Surg Lt Jeffery explained. The frigate has subsequently transported the


alacrity to the plight of fellow mariners and were determined to play their part,” said Monmouth’s Commanding Officer Cdr Dean Bassett. “Although a large vessel, the boarding was well within the capabilities of my highly skilled teams onboard Monmouth. In this instance the assailants had


boarding team – a mixture of Royal Marine Commandos from the Fleet Protection Group, backed up by the ship’s owned specially- trained sailors – boarded the merchant ship by rope from the Lynx and from the Black Duke’s sea boats. Their job was to systematically work their way


ill mariner to a local hospital to receive advanced medical treatment. Before the excitement in the Red Sea, the Black


Duke could be found in the Indian Ocean, where she carried out a rare exercise with the Kenyan Navy.


her voyage and Monmouth has returned to her mission of disrupting and deterring piracy. Helping the Caravos Horizon is not the only good


through the Caravos Horizon to make sure it was clear of intruders. “I was immensely proud of the way my team conducted themselves. This was a time-critical operation; it was late in the day and we had very little daylight left,” said Lt Harry Lane RM, in charge of the Royal Marines’ detachment aboard HMS Monmouth. “At the very minimum we needed to get on board and into the superstructure of the merchant


rather than piracy; the crew of the schooner were concerned about the health of one of their shipmates who’d been unwell for several days. As Monmouth was only 35 miles away, the


The Caravos Horizon has now continued


fled whilst we approached, but our robust response will act as a deterrent to others from committing such crimes and provide reassurance to the maritime community that we are here to safeguard the high seas.”


deed recently performed by the Black Dukes; the sailors also picked up a distress signal from the three-masted schooner Boreas in the Red Sea. In this instance it was a medical emergency


frigate sailed to the Boreas’ assistance and sent her medical officer, Surg Lt Samuel Jeffery across. “Having assessed him on the yacht, we were


returning home to Mombasa after a two-year refit in Italy. As they passed through the Gulf of Aden the


duo met up with Monmouth for some rather zippy manoeuvres (agile and swift though the Black Duke, she can’t match the Kenyans for agility and speed – circa 40kts flat out). Monmouth broke off from the formation to


Sister patrol boats KNS Nyayo and Umoja were


launch her Lynx and then returned to join the Kenyans, scything between the two in perfect formation. As well as keeping the bridge teams on their


toes, the few hours together allowed the ships to share their experiences of maritime security operations; the Kenyans will be supporting the naval security mission in the Indian Ocean. “I was most impressed by the professionalism


and skills of the Kenyan sailors – and look forward to working with them on future operations,” said Cdr Bassett. “It was a great example of the increasing co-operation and enduring relationship we have with an important partner in the region.”


pictures: la(phot) stu hill, frpu north


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