HMS Buwark was presented with the prestigious
Royal Navy Capital Ship Efficiency Award four years in a row
http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/royal-navys-most-efficient-ship-963017
A Plymouth-based warship facing the axe was
ranked the Royal Navy’s most efficient vessel – four years in a row.
Defence chiefs are considering removing the
two Devonport-based amphibious assault shops, HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion, from
service in a bid to cut costs.
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Migrants disembark in the port of Taranto, southern
Italy, after being rescued at sea by British ship HMS Bulwark
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It’s reported that scrapping to the two ships
would free up sailors to man the new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers, which
are based in Portsmouth.
In 2016, Bulwark was presented with the
prestigious Royal Navy Capital Ship Efficiency Award for the fourth year
running.
The Royal Navy says Surface Flotilla
Effectiveness Trophies are awarded annually to ships or other units in
recognition of “achievement of excellence”.
The award is presented annually to the
Capital Ship that has made a "consistent and outstanding contribution in
the execution of her tasking and shown the highest standards of effectiveness
in the course of her duties throughout the year".
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The Royal Navy rescued more than 1,000 people off the
coast of Libya, making it HMS Bulwark's "largest operation to date"
(Image: Rowan Griffiths/Daily Mirror/PA Wire)
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Upon receiving the award last year, Captain
James Parkin, the captain of HMS Bulwark said: "The Fleet Effectiveness
Trophies are the only way for the Royal Navy to announce formally which ships
have been assessed as the very best in the fleet.
"For HMS Bulwark to win this coveted
annual prize is testament to the hard work and dedication of the hundreds of
sailors and marines who have served in this amazing ship over the past 12
months, protecting our nation's interests in home waters, and across the globe.
"I am utterly proud of, and profoundly
humbled by, this fine body of men and women - and supremely grateful for the
support of their families too."
In 2015, HMS Bulwark and her crew helped
rescue hundreds of migrants from the Medeterranean.
And 2016 was another busy year for HMS Bulwark
as she took part in Joint Warrior and was involved in the Royal Navy’s Joint
Expeditionary Force (Maritime) (JEF(M)) Task Group in the Middle East and
Mediterranean.
Remaining ready for any contingency, the
JEF(M) task group took part in amphibious exercises off Albania and Egypt
before heading through the Suez Canal and conducting further exercises in Oman.
HMS Bulwark then spent a short period
training the Somaliland Coastguard, before returning home in December (in time
for Christmas) via Haifa in Israel, where she hosted senior dignitaries from
the Israeli government and Armed Forces.
In the course of the deployment, the crew ate
their way through 20 tonnes of potatoes and 3 tonnes of baked beans, and drunk
tea from 23,000 tea bags.
HMS Bulwark has now steamed nearly a quarter
of a million nautical miles since entering service in 2004.
Source:
Plymouth
Herald. 25 December 2017
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