Royal Navy’s frigate HMS Lancaster calls at Kochi after Konkan 2023 exercise

The visit comes less than a month after the warship seized anti-tank weapons and medium-range ballistic missile components that were reportedly being smuggled from a vessel in the international waters at the Gulf of Oman after a ‘high-speed chase’

The Royal Navy’s type-23 guided-missile frigate HMS Lancaster called at Kochi on Thursday morning, after a three-day bilateral exercise with the Indian Navy as part of the ‘Konkan 2023’ exercise and to enable exchange of crew on board the vessel.

The visit comes less than a month after the warship seized anti-tank weapons and medium-range ballistic missile components that were reportedly being smuggled from a vessel in the international waters at the Gulf of Oman after a ‘high-speed chase’.

The Royal Navy had claimed that the vessel was intercepted and searched by commandos on board HMS Lancaster, after it steered towards the Iranian territorial waters ignoring radio calls.

Addressing the media at the Kochi port upon the arrival of the ship from Muscat, Commander Paul Irving, commanding officer of HMS Lancaster, said the entire crew of 200 personnel on board would fly to the United Kingdom from Kochi, while a similar number of personnel would fly down to board the vessel, through a five-day process of handing over everything from stores to ammunition. This crew exchange is done every four months and helps ensure the vessel’s presence in this area of the world all the time.

On the frigate participating in the three-day Konkan 2023 with Indian guided missile frigate INS Trishul on the western front earlier this month, Cmdr. Irwing said the British personnel had a fantastic time with their Indian counterparts, including when there was exchange of personnel between the two warships to see both the ships. It helped build partnership with the Indian Navy and learn from each other. What began with simple exercises was followed by anti-submarine and helicopter operations and different kinds of manoeuvres. The inter-operability between the two navies was perfect, especially since they have similar operational procedures.

Of the 200 personnel on board the frigate, around 15% are women. They work in every branch of the vessel. “They include three officers — a medical officer, a marine engineering officer and an operations officer. The mixed crew have been working brilliantly,” personnel on board the ship said.

Besides crew exchange, HMS Lancaster will host a symposium on ‘Maritime challenges and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region’ on Friday. It will sail off from here in approximately a week.