THE new man in charge of HMS Dauntless has spoken of his delight at landing the job.
Commander Adrian Fryer, from Horndean, took the helm of the Type 45 destroyer five days ago.
The ship’s company have not long been back in 
Portsmouth after their maiden seven-month deployment.
They clocked up 30,000 miles by visiting 18 countries across four continents to carry out security patrols, counter piracy operations and exercises.
Cdr Fryer has now taken over as commanding officer of the second in class of six Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyers as the ship’s company work to get her back to sea.
He said: ‘I’m delighted. She’s 
just come back from her first major deployment which she did very well.
‘I’m really looking forward to it.
‘It’s going to be a challenge to take this ship through but it’s something I’m really looking forward to.
‘The ship’s company is working very hard to get the ship back to sea.
‘They are very proud of her and they have done a great job.’
Cdr Fryer is a warfare specialist by trade.
He was born in Greater Manchester in 1971 and joined the Royal Navy in 1992.
After training at Britannia Royal Naval College, Cdr Fryer spent time on board HMS Chiddingfold, HMS Battleaxe and HMS Nottingham.
He has previously commanded both the Offshore Patrol Vessel HMS Tyne while it was on fishery protection duties and Falkland Islands Patrol Vessel HMS Clyde.
Cdr Fryer is a keen sportsman who enjoys mountain biking, motorbiking, scuba diving, and snow boarding.
On her maiden deployment, HMS Dauntless visited 
Portugal, the Cape Verde Islands, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, South Africa, the Falkland Islands, Columbia and the United States.
During a series of exercises over the seven months at sea, the ship’s company worked with 27 different navies and helped with training for 600 foreign military personnel.
HMS Dauntless joined the navy’s fleet in November 2010 and was the first in class to fire the new Sea Viper missiles.
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