Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales commander salutes crew for 'boundary pushing' NATO exercise

HMS Prince of Wales sailed back into Portsmouth at 2.30am today, having spent the last six weeks leading the Nato training exercise, Cold Response.

The £3.2bn aircraft carrier, alongside personnel and vessels from more than 20 nations, had been undertaking a range of drills in the punishing Arctic Circle.

Now Captain Steve Higham, the carrier’s commanding officer, has praised the ship’s company for their hard work to ‘push the boundaries of UK carrier operation in the cold, harsh environment’.

Captain Higham said: ‘HMS Prince of Wales deploying in the “high north” has proved our ability to operate in the Arctic.

‘I’m very proud of our ship’s company and their constant innovation in the face of extreme conditions.’

But the extreme conditions were not able to dampen the spirits of at least one crew member – who celebrated his birthday with a visit to a frozen volcano.

Celebrating his 33rd birthday, Petty Officer Luke Witts was among the small party who went ashore at Jan Mayen to visit a Norwegian base, overshadowed by the 7,208ft Beerenberg volcano.

He said: ‘It was probably the best birthday I’ve ever had, the whole experience flying from the ship and seeing the island was amazing.

‘The food from the chefs was phenomenal and it was great to meet the people there.’

The ship also embarked an ice expert from the Royal Norwegian Navy, Commander Harald Thor Straten, who shared more than 40 years’ experience of working in sub-zero conditions to help the carrier operate in such an unforgiving environment.

Commander Thor Straten said: ‘The next time a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier sails into these waters, they will be more ready and prepared, using the reports and operations that HMS Prince of Wales has covered.

‘It will be of great importance that this experience has been updated in 2022 as a reference for other navies. I feel very privileged to have been able to offer advice and ideas as to what the Norwegians do when we face similar cold weather challenges.’

Having acted as Nato command ship throughout Cold Response, the carrier and her task group - including frigate HMS Richmond, destroyer HMS Defender, tankers RFA Tiderace and Tidesurge, and a hunter-killer submarine - undertook patrols in the North Atlantic before returning home.