Royal Navy: HMS Duncan deployed to Red Sea in relief of HMS Diamond to tackle Iran supported Houthi rebels

HMS Duncan sailed from HMNB Portsmouth yesterday afternoon and will relieve HMS Diamond. Crowds of loved ones gathered at The Round Tower in Old Portsmouth to watch the Type 45 destroyer leave the city.

The 200 men and women aboard have worked tirelessly ahead of the operation to prepare themselves and the vessel. They will be tasked with protecting shipping lanes and merchant vessels travelling near Yemen, around the Gulf of Aden and elsewhere.

Commanding Officer, Commander Dan Lee, said: “I am immensely proud of the work the ship’s company have done to ready HMS Duncan for this important deployment. HMS Duncan will be ready to deliver on operations around the clock as we join efforts to protect trade routes from Houthi attacks, continuing the excellent work of HMS Diamond and HMS Richmond in the region.

“It is a privilege to serve on the Royal Navy’s ‘last and best’ Type 45 destroyer and I have every confidence that the ship and our people will succeed on operations and support stability where tasked.” The vessel is a like-for-like replacement for HMS Diamond, armed with similar weaponry and radar systems. She had been deployed in the area since Christmas and has shot down nine drones operated by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels - using one of her Sea Viper missiles.

HMS Duncan previously spent spent five months leading NATO’s premier task group in the Mediterranean Sea last year. HMS Duncan was the head of several allied task forces, before handing over command to the Italian navy. The destroyer has been prepared for 22 weeks, and will be deployed with 60 new crew members.

Able Rating Charles Henderson, 18, is on his first deployment. “I am immensely excited to be deploying but I’m highly focused on the operations ahead and ready to put all my training into practice,” he said. Before heading through the Suez canal, specific weapons, damage control and survival training will be carried out through what the Royal Navy calls mock operational scenarios. Trials will also be conducted in the Mediterranean.