Royal Navy: Devoted HMS Spey joins forces with Australia warship HMAS Sydney in wake of HMS Prince of Wales op

Portsmouth-based HMS Spey has teamed up alongside the Australian destroyer HMAS Sydney off the Korean peninsula. This comes as the UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG), led by HMS Prince of Wales, is heading towards the Indo-Pacific region - recently passing through the Suez Canal.

British and Australian personnel crossed in the East China Sea ahead of a visit to the South Korean port of Busan. Subsequent exercises focused on training bridge teams on both vessels. This included close quarters manoeuvring drills, tactical communications and replenishment at sea. These skills are considered by the Royal Navy as building blocks for more complex naval operations, which will be used on Operation Highmast.

HMS Spey Commanding Officer, Commander Paul Caddy, said: “Good working relationships are a key part of building interoperability with our allies. This exercise gave an opportunity to exchange members of the crew by sea boat between the two ships. Members of the ship’s companies from both ships, from a range of roles, took the chance to learn more about how each ship operates and understand each other’s capabilities.”

The River-class offshore patrol vessel is an ever-present fixture in the Pacific alongside her sister ship HMS Tamar. She is four years into her long-term mission of working alongside Commonwealth allies, acting as a roaming UK ambassador in an area significant to the nation’s security and prosperity.

It’s the second time in two months Spey and Sydney’s paths have crossed. The pair were involved in the regional Bersama Shield exercises off the Malay peninsula with the other three members of the Five Powers Defence Agreement – Singapore, New Zealand and Malaysia – in April. HMS Spey is heading towards the Japanese naval base at Sasebo on Kyūshū, after working with a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft in the Sea of Japan.

Operation Highmast will involve British forces carrying out diplomatic visits and military exercises in Japan, Australia and elsewhere. The biggest of which is Exercise Talisman Sabre, where 19 nations will take part in various trials and operations.