Vice Admiral James Burnell-Nugent has taken over the reins as Second Sea Lord at a ceremony on board HMS Victory.

Admiral Burnell-Nugent has taken over the role – the full title of which is Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command or 2SL/CNH – from Admiral Sir Peter Spencer, who leaves the Royal Navy shortly to take up an appointment in the private sector.

The supercession ceremony took place on the Second Sea Lord’s flagship, starting with an inspection of the Guard of Honour and Royal Marines Band on the Quarterdeck before moving into Nelson’s Great Cabin for the signing ceremony.

The Guard of Honour comprised 18 ratings from the Maritime Warfare School.

After the handover, Admiral Spencer received a general salute in the Victory Arena, at which he was presented with his flag, and the band and Guard of Honour held a march-past.

Dozens of members of staff from Admiral Spencer’s headquarters, Victory Building, braved the chilly wind to bid farewell to their boss.

Admiral Burnell-Nugent has commanded at every rank from Lieutenant to Vice Admiral, and flown his flag in all three of the Navy’s aircraft carriers.

Those commands included the conventional submarine HMS Olympus (1979-80) and the nuclear-powered HMS Conqueror (1984-86), and he commanded the Type 22 frigate HMS Brilliant in 1992-3 during the early stages of the Bosnia Crisis.

He was also captain of HMS Invincible during two joint operational deployments to the Gulf for air operations over Iraq.

As Commander UK Maritime Forces in 2001-02 he was Maritime Commander of the UK joint forces and Deputy Maritime Commander of the Coalition for the first six months of the war on terror.

The Second Sea Lord is responsible for personnel matters in the Navy – ensuring that the right number of high-quality people, trained to the required standards, are available for deployment in the Royal Navy in times of peace, crisis or war.

2SL thus oversees recruitment, retention, training, terms and conditions, as well as welfare support to sailors and their families.

Admiral Burnell-Nugent told Navy News Online: “I am really pleased and privileged to be taking on this job, and I am keen to get on with it and to do the best I can for all the people in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.”