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SAILORS from HMS Spey have taken on the role of smugglers as their ship joined Australia’s signature military exercise – the first time a Royal Navy warship has taken part.

The River Class Offshore Patrol Vessel has joined the Royal Australian Navy in the port city of Darwin for the Kakadu exercises.

The trials are held every two years to test the ability of Australia and her partners to fight together.

Although Kakadu has been run on 14 previous occasions, this is the first time a Royal Navy warship has joined the international exercise, which was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Participating ships of Exercise KAKADU 2022 sail in formation during the Photo Exercise off the coast of Darwin.

Crew from HMS Spey were required to play pirate for the trials, as they posed as smugglers on the run.

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Petty officer Marc ‘Bomber’ Brown, HMS Spey’s deputy coxswain, said: ‘We were asked to act as smugglers aboard a small vessel and the Australian teams would then carry out boarding actions.

‘Four of Spey ship’s company were involved and we managed to initially throw them off their game. The team the adapted quickly to restrain us and overall it was a good laugh and great to interact with them as a Navy.’

The view from HMS Spey during the exercises in Australian waters.

Also among the temporary smugglers was engineering technician Benjamin Smith from Manchester, who said the crew lived up to their roles and ‘did not make it easy’ for the Australians.

The 18-year-old said: ‘I thoroughly enjoyed being involved in a boarding exercise. It was good to see how other navies conduct boarding operations and how we are similar or differ.

‘I feel it was a real training benefit; we did not make it easy for the Australians as we role played not very compliant people to see how they react to this. It was fun and this is an exercise I would love to be involved in again and was good to keep up relations with the Australian Navy.’

HMS Spey’s Commanding Officer Commander Michael Proudman said participation in exercises had given the crew ‘phenomenal experience’.

Cdr Proudman said. ‘HMS Spey has been welcomed, supported and partnered as a true friend, by a great many Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth countries alike throughout her time in the region.

‘It increases collective capability to be able to respond better to the changing needs of the maritime security environment.’

HMS Spey makes Royal Navy history in Australia - with some smuggling involved