Type 22 frigate HMS Cumberland has returned to Devonport after a wide-ranging deployment which lasted 250 days.

The warship has been engaged in Operation Oracle, and although not directly involved in the activities of the Amphibious Task Group now gathering in the Middle East, she has had an important role in the campaign against international.

And since she left home waters she has ranged far and wide across the Indian Ocean and the Gulf region, including tasks in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of East Africa, both blocking the routes of Al Qaeda terrorists and helping enforce United Nations sanctions against Iraq.

She has visited ten countries in the eight months she has been away, and members of her ship’s company boarded 120 vessels – many of them in an intensive 20-day period when Cumberland successfully intercepted and diverted hundreds of tonnes of illegally-shipped oil.

But the frigate, a capable and versatile platform which is well-suited to operating alone far from home, also had a major role to play in defence diplomacy, showing UK support for allies and friendly nations in the region.

Among the visits were those to Aqaba in Jordan, allowing bilateral exercises with the Jordanian and Saudi Arabian naval forces, and Karachi in Pakistan, when high-level guests were invited on board the warship.

During such visits, the ship’s company also gets a chance to sample local culture – from Aqaba, parties of RN sailors visited the ancient city of Petra and the old haunts of Lawrence of Arabia, while many of the other port visits allowed for social and sporting contacts with local communities.

An essential maintenance stop at Mombasa allowed some members of the ship’s company to go on safari, deep-sea fishing or diving, and an expedition headed off to climb Mount Kenya.

Christmas Day was spent at sea – Cumberland was the only Royal Navy surface unit on duty away from land that day.

Executive Officer Lt Cdr Duncan Thomson did his best to maintain an air of normality by secretly arranging for families back home to send presents to the ship’s company.

These gifts were stashed away on board, unseen by the majority of sailors, and the ship’s Santa only brought the goodies out of his Grotto at the appropriate moment.

A service of carols and readings was held on the flight deck on Christmas Eve, led by the ship’s chaplain, Fr Simon Bradbury RN, with musical accompaniment from Lt Cdr Richard Bywater on the piano and Lt Bill Thomson on guitar.

During the interval the Royal Marines performed a spirited enactment of the poem The Night Before Christmas, which involved Santa Claus entering the proceedings by rapid-roping from the hangar roof – a handy trick for chimneys he may encounter in the future.

The service concluded with mince pies and mulled wine, and a number of hardy souls returned to the flight deck later that night to celebrate Midnight Mass under the stars.

Christmas Day saw the traditional swapping of jobs for the serving of Christmas lunch, when the ship’s officers assumed the duties of the stewards and dished up the festive fare for the ratings.

For one group of sailors on board, a deployment such as this gives them the chance to add a new dimension to a favourite pastime.

Tom Worthy said: “When the ship anchored in 19 metres of water sitting off the tropical islands of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, it filled me with anticipation and excitement as to what fish lay beneath the hull.”

Tom contacted the Seychelles Ministry of Fisheries, as well as local tackle shops, and ended up sending his hook down from the frigate in search of new catches.

And Tom and his mates were not disappointed. The first bites were pretty aggressive, and yielded emperor fish – like bream but with bigger teeth and an attitude.

After that came a variety of fish, from red snappers to barracuda – around 13 different species in the space of two hours.

But the next bite was much more like it. A ten-minute fight resulted in Tom landing a hammerhead shark – “no monster at 3ft long,” he admitted, but his first-ever shark, nonetheless.

When the fishermen had had enough for the day, after around six hours, they had landed three different species of sharks – five hammerhead, ten threshers and 15 black-tipped reef sharks.

All 30, plus 25 assorted other fish, were returned to the deep unharmed, but slightly bemused by their brief visit to a Royal Navy frigate.

The fishermen also chartered a deep-sea fishing boat for the day while in the Seychelles, bagging boxfuls of bonito but failing to spot the prized sailfish or black marlin.

Their disappointment was eased by blue skies, constant sunshine and a crate of cold beer on the fishing boat.

Although there is plenty of work to be done on such a deployment, there is also plenty of time to be filled away from family and home.

Two of the officers on board Cumberland took to collecting, both to remind them of the trip, and to provide a memento for younger members of their families.

In the case of Lt Cdr Thomson, it was wild flowers. The XO collected one example from each of the places he visited, which were then carefully pressed between the pages of his two weightiest books – the 490-page Stalingrad by Antony Beevors or the 736-page Complete Works of Shakespeare.

Once the flowers were dry, they were sent home to his daughter Alice, aged seven.

On much the same lines Lt Cdr Ian Cowper, the ship’s Marine Engineer Officer, gathered examples of sea-shells from the beaches of the countries visited.

His daughter Sian, aged six, on receiving them in the post, has decorated home-made photo frames, examples of which she has sent back to her Dad and are displayed in his cabin – and they forcefully reminded him of home when they fall on to his head during rough weather.

Late on in the deployment Cumberland managed a rendezvous with the Faslane-based submarine HMS Splendid, allowing OM Louise Kirkcaldy on the frigate to enjoy a surprise family reunion with dad Angus, the Coxswain of the boat – the first time they had a chance to meet up in over a year.

Cumberland’s Commanding Officer, Capt Mike Mansergh – who took over from Capt Ian Corder in the middle of December – said: “This has been a busy and demanding operational programme and Cumberland can be justifiably proud of her efforts in the War against Terrorism and the enforcement of UN sanctions against Iraq.

“The variety of tasks we have undertaken, combined with our diplomatic mission, bears testimony to the high level of training provided to our men and women.

“We now look forward to leave with family and friends who, as always, have given us constant support throughout the ship’s time away – and what better day to return to Plymouth than Valentine’s Day?”

Around 500 people gathered to greet the ship as she sailed into Devonport, while another 75 guests – family members and representatives of affiliated groups – joined the ship prior to her arrival.

In her 250 days away, the frigate was in harbour for 68 days and actually at sea for 182 days, and she replenished at sea from seven different tankers from five nations – the UK, the United States, Germany, Canada and Japan

She steamed almost 40,000 nautical miles during the arduous deployment – bringing her to within 22,000 miles of clocking up half a million since she was built.

A port visit in the United Arab Emirates allowed time for one of the ship’s Rolls-Royce Tyne gas turbine engines to be changed – a five-day job in temperatures of over 90 decrees in 60 per cent humidity – and Commander-in-Chief Fleet, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, and UK Maritime Component Commander Gulf, Rear Admiral David Snelson, both visited her.

The frigate’s Lynx helicopter achieved its 1,000th landing since build during the deployment, and the ship’s divers have spent around 40 hours under water undertaking various tasks in support of the deployment.

The men and women on board have consumed 62,820 eggs, 31,680 sausages, 5,880 bananas, 25,800kg of potatoes, 13,690 litres of milk and 63,720 tea bags.

She has now been relieved on station by her sister frigate HMS Chatham.