Devonport frigate HMS Northumberland has now taken up her duties with the Mediterranean NATO squadron, giving her ship’s company a wide range of activities to keep them occupied.

The Type 23 warship sailed from the West Country in mid-January for a seven-month deployment, initially with Naval Task Group 2003, but she has now formally integrated into Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (SNFM).

One of her main roles will be on Operation Active Endeavour, monitoring local and strategic shipping routes for vessels engaged in terrorist activities.

She will also exercise with NATO and non-NATO countries, and her Commanding Officer, Cdr Alex Burton, identified the multinational environment as being one of the major benefits to his ship’s company.

Northumberland’s first stand-off was at Marmaris in Turkey, the earliest opportunity for many of the British sailors to meet their SNFM colleagues face-to-face.

The first two days were taken up by combined training and integration, including a sports day in which the ships competed in games such as volleyball, football and tug o’ war.

A barbecue was held in the evening – despite somewhat British weather – at which all ships provided a selection of their national foods.

The Commodore of the Force, Cdre Philip Wirth, presented trophies to the winners of sports events, and to mark his birthday, the Northumberland chefs baked an enormous cake for him.

Then it was out to sea again for SNFM exercises – the force usually comprises around eight frigates and destroyers.

One serial saw Northumberland towing the Dutch frigate HNLMS Abraham van der Hulst, demonstrating the frigate’s ability to deal with a salvage emergency.

Northumberland hosted Cdre Wirth, who toured the frigate and saw a presentation by the Heads of Departments, and the Dutch ship’s team used Northumberland’s flight deck as a ‘merchant ship’ during boarding exercises.

The British frigate’s specially-trained boarding team is some 30 strong, giving her this valuable capability 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using either sea boats or fast-roping from the frigate’s Lynx helicopter.

The Lynx crew themselves have been busy, checking merchant ships, carrying out photographic exercises, undertaking surface sweeps or transferring personnel – such as when Cdr Burton nipped over to the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle for lunch.

Pancake Day was the chance for the chefs to show what they can do, and 380 pancakes – prepared and cooked in the traditional fashion – were delivered to the ship’s company.

The weather in the early stages of the deployment was “awful”, with the upper deck out of bounds on a regular basis, but as the conditions settled and the temperature rose, so the ship was able to stage the first barbecue of 2003 on the Flight Deck, organised and cooked by the 30 Man Mess.

With Northumberland’s PTI away on adventurous training, LWEA Rich Gray organised a brighter cricket session, which resulted in the 30 Man Mess claiming the Ashes from the Chiefs’ Mess. Brighter cricket is a scaled-down version of the game for those who have to make do with a moving flight deck instead of a large grassy pitch.

The ship’s company also staged a bucketball competition – another Navalised sport with vague similarities to basketball – which was won by the Chiefs.

The serious business of training continued throughout, including force protection serials which ensure the ship reacts to any hostile attack by small craft.

To date, the frigate has hailed more than 200 merchant vessels in her designated patrol areas, adding to the overall picture of maritime movements in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Cdr Burton said: “We remain fully committed to SNFM and her future programme, which will see us continuing with our combined NATO exercises in our endeavours to defeat global terrorism.

“Our purpose in the Eastern Mediterranean today is in support of NATO, but the present climate of the world political stage reminds us that our part we are playing today here has become more vital then ever.

“While far away from the media and its various conjectures, all on board remain acutely aware of the current world state of affairs.”