HMS Defender sets sail from Portsmouth after almost three months in port

The £1bn warship had been in maintenance at Portsmouth Naval Base since the end of March after completing a seven-month stint in the Gulf.

In a statement on Portsmouth Naval Base’s official Twitter account, the Royal Navy said: ‘Back to sea for ⁦

@HMSDefender this afternoon after post-Gulf deployment maintenance as her crew prepare themselves and the destroyer for more crucial operations.’

The warship, which specialises in air defence, is one of the most sophisticated naval ships in the world and part of a fleet of six based in Portsmouth.

She arrived home in March during a toned-down homecoming, impacting by the start of the coronavirus lockdown.

Despite the traditional naval base celebration being scuppered, family members still gathered along Old Portsmouth’s Hot Walls to welcome home their loved ones.

Speaking at the time, Defender’s former captain, Commander Richard Hewitt, paid tribute to all the families for their support of his ship’s company.

‘While disappointing not to see our families on the jetty as we return to Portsmouth, we understand the situation and we are extremely grateful for all the support our families have provided while we have been deployed. We could not do it without them, and are looking forward to spending some quality time with them,’ he said.

Instead of a six-month patrol of the Far East as originally planned, the destroyer was diverted to the Middle East last summer to protect British merchant ships in the Straits of Hormuz.

She sailed the narrow waters at the gateway to the Gulf 28 times, accompanying 1.6 million tonnes of cargo on those 38 ships – cargo vital to UK trade and economy.

While in the Middle East, Defender conducted a series of successful drug busts, seizing 2,500kg of hashish, worth £1m, in February, and a record haul of crystal meth before Christmas, worth a whopping £3.3m.

She was also involved in helping to provide security in the region during the tensions between Iran and the US following the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani.

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