Crew from Royal Navy Type-23 frigate HMS Montrose return to UK after escorting British ships in the Gulf

Th 200 men and women on board the Type-23 frigate have spent four months escorting three dozen merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

HMS Montrose also acted as a guardian for global shipping protected by the new seven-nation International Maritime Security Construct and the security mission it directs from Bahrain, Operation Sentinel.

Every four month the sailors and Royal Marines on board swap places with a UK-based crew, with the final switchover of 2019 taking place lss than a week before Christmas.

A major success for the ship’s company came in October when they seized £42m of crystal meth and heroin while working with the French destroyer FS Jean Bart.

Plymouth-based Montrose – which will soon call Portsmouth home - also took part in a major UK-US medical exercise in Bahrain, testing the allies’ abilities to deal with multiple casualties at sea and evacuate crew members safely.

Commander Ollie Hucker, commanding officer of the Port crew, said the crew were looking forward to spending Christmas with their families before rejoining operations next year.

He said: ‘I am extremely proud of all that Montrose’s Port crew have conducted during their operational period. From accompanying Red Ensign shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, contributing to the International Maritime Security Construct and seizing 170kg of crystal meth and Cocaine; the crew have consistently and continually delivered.

Before the crew flew home they hosted Britain’s most senior sailor, First Sea Lord Admiral Tony Radakin, who thanked the men and women for their hard work throughout the autumn.

The last Royal Navy ship to return to the UK for Christmas was HMS Clyde which docked in Portsmouth last week.