The crew of HMS Shoreham has returned home to Faslane after seven months of operational duty in the Gulf.

More than 40 sailors waved a sad farewell to their Sandown-class minehunter last week and began the journey home from Bahrain.

One deployment the Crew 5 took part in varied activities throughout the Middle East, from survey missions with the Kuwaiti Navy to taking part in the largest mine countermeasures exercise ever held, and being part in the UK’s ongoing commitment to maintaining freedom of navigation in the region.

Lieutenant Commander Simon Kelly, Commanding Officer of HMS Shoreham and Crew 5, said: “The last seven months provided many new and varied experiences for everyone in Crew 5.

“In particular, the contact we had with our key regional allies generated some happy memories, especially the visits to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, not to mention working so closely and frequently with the US Navy.

“This was my second deployment to the Gulf as a Commanding Officer and it was an honour to have worked with two fantastic crews full of professional and highly motivated sailors.” HMS Shoreham is based at HMNB Clyde, in Faslane, but is permanently deployed to Bahrain.

Crew 5 will now enjoy a well-deserved period of leave before they embark in Shoreham’s sister ship, HMS Grimsby, for a deployment to the Baltic as part of NATO’s mine countermeasures group.