Royal Navy: Delighted Lieutenant Commander takes charges of Portsmouth ship HMS Tyne

Lt Cdr Martyn Mayger has become the Commanding Officer of the Portsmouth-based patrol vessel HMS Tyne. He will be replacing his predecessor Commander Hugo Floyer.

A statement published on the ship’s social media account said: “End of a chapter, start of the next. CO Supersession is now complete. Lt Cdr Martyn Mayger has assumed command of HMS Tyne. We wish our outgoing Commanding Officer, Cdr Hugo Floyer, all the best in his future endeavours.”

HMS Tyne, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, regularly patrols the UK coasts and the waters of Northern Europe. She is tasked with “protect the integrity of UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Territorial Seas”, the Royal Navy said on its website. The ship was originally commissioned on July 4, 2003.

HMS Tyne is capable of conducting various operations, from maritime surveillance to interdiction operations. Most recently, she has been tasked with monitoring Russian task groups sailing through the English Channel - often protecting the UK’s critical infrastructure such as undersea cables.

The ship’s company previously kept their beady eyes on Moscow’s spy ship Yantar on January 20. Sailors spoke of their pride at keeping Britain safe. Cdr Floyer said: “It’s hard to overstate the importance of data cables, oil and gas pipelines, electricity cables for wind power and interconnectors that run under the sea, to the wealth and wellbeing of our island country.

“We are proud to play a part in protecting these vast networks that are out of our sight and often out of our minds, but are so vital to our nation and allies. The ship’s company of HMS Tyne know how important this job is, and I know they are all incredibly proud to serve at sea and play a part securing the energy and data we all rely on every moment, every day.”

HMS Tyne also joined HMS Somerset to monitor a task group of six Russian ships - RFS Aleksandr Otrakovskiy, RFS Ivan Gren, Sparta, Sparta II, General Skobelev and Yelnya - which passed through the Channel while carrying ammunition from Syria last week.