Royal Navy: Portsmouth warship HMS Trent continues Africa mission to protect vital trade routes worth millions

The Portsmouth-based warship HMS Trent is currently on deployment and has visited four nations this month. Her Interlock 2023 mission has taken her to The Gambia, the Cape Verde Islands, Sierra Leone and most recently Nigeria.

Sailors have been learning about the capabilities of other naval forces and coastguards and the challenges they face. Maritime security expertise have been shared by both groups to understand regional security and stability in order to protect the vital trade routes used by UK vessels.

Roughly £6bn of UK trade passes through shipping lanes in the West Africa region every year. HMS Trent will be monitoring the area for the rest of 2023, using Gibraltar as her base.

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Her sailors and Royal Marines have conducted conducted joint board-and-search training with local security forces both ashore and on the water – as well as sharing damage control, medical and engineering skills their hosts. Military personnel also fixed and installed equipment where necessary.

HMS Trent’s Medical Officer, Surgeon Lieutenant Zara Dyar, said: “The medical team thoroughly enjoyed working with the Gambian Navy to share understanding of first aid and practical aspects of medical care onboard warships.”

Royal Marines carried out high vertical assault and close-quarters drills, using sea boats to assault the patrol ship’s wings. These tactics, shared with local forces, regularly paid dividends in the Caribbean and Arabian Sea.