HMS Iron Duke intercepted several huge consignments of illegal drugs being sent from the Caribbean to Europe.
Her only combat mission was action off Libya in 2011, destroying a gun battery outside the besieged town of Misrata. She also fired star shells through the night to illuminate pro-Gadaffi positions for NATO aircraft to destroy rocket launchers, fuel dumps, ammo stores, artillery batteries and command and control centres, whilst also confirming that no civilians were in the area.
Prince William spent time on Iron Duke in 2008.
1. HMS Iron Duke memories
HMS Iron Duke leaves Portsmouth for deployment in 2014. Picture: Allan Hutchings (141864-039) Photo: Allan Hutchings
2. HMS Iron Duke memories
Undated Royal Navy handout of a massive shipment of cocaine, worth £250 million, which was found by a navy frigate aboard a merchant ship in the Caribbean, it was revealed, Thursday June 26, 2003. HMS Iron Duke (background) stopped a Panamanian-registered merchant ship following a tip-off from Customs officers in the UK. The 3.3 tonnes of cocaine was believed to be destined for Europe and was hidden behind specially-made, false steel bulkhead plates on the 11,500-tonne ship Yalta which was stopped 400 miles south-west of St Lucia. See PA story CRIME Drugs. PA Photo: Jack Russell/Royal Navy/handout Photo: The News archive
3. HMS Iron Duke memories
The homecoming of HMS Iron Duke to Portsmouth Naval Base 22nd August 2003. Sailors on board HMS Iron Duke wave to the waiting families on the quayside as they come alongside PICTURE: MALCOLM WELLS ( 034194-100 ) Photo: The News archive
4. HMS Iron Duke memories
Royal Navy Frigate HMS Iron Duke, which last month seized approximately three-quarters of a tonne of cocaine, has had further success, intercepting a cocaine shipment with an estimated UK wholesale value of £6 million, during a night operation in the Eastern Caribbean. The Ship, patrolling in the Caribbean as part of a multi-national Task Force, was directed to a suspicious vessel by a patrol aircraft operated by the Caribbean Regional Security System. Identifying the boat as a Go-Fast often used to traffic drugs, HMS Iron Duke closed the contact at night and launched her Lynx helicopter and sea boat. With an embarked US Coast Guard team they closed the suspect vessel as its occupants threw the boats contents overboard. The quantity of drugs intercepted is estimated at 150 kgs of cocaine, and whilst it was not recovered as evidence on this occasion it highlights the Royal Navys role in the disruption of the drugs trade into the Caribbean islands as a staging post for Europe and the UK. HMS Iron Dukes primary task whilst on patrol in the Caribbean is to reassure and assist the UK Overseas Territories during the hurricane season. In addition, the Type 23 frigate conducts counter drugs operations as part of a multi-national task force. This particular operation was a coordinated effort with the UKs Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). Photo: Gary Turner