Royal Navy frigate HMS Cumberland returned to Devonport this morning after a six-month deployment which took her east of Suez in the campaign against terrorism.

The Type 22 frigate has been on deployment to the Gulf and Indian Ocean, visiting eight countries along the way on operational duties and in a programme of defence diplomacy.

She has operated alongside ships from ten different nations, and spent more than two-thirds of the deployment at sea – 127 days out of 180.

During these days at sea Cumberland’s main task was to gather intelligence, to survey and reconnoitre, and to board ships where necessary in support of the Allied stand against terrorism.

The frigate made high-profile visits to Muscat in Oman, Bahrain, Dubai and Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, Mumbai in India and Aqaba in Jordan.

In many places exercises were held with local nations, such as Exercise Iron Siren in July, when forces from the UK, the United States and the United Arab Emirates were put through their paces.

Cumberland also undertook a series of visits and events with the Indian Navy in Mumbai, formerly Bombay.

Capt Russell Best, the Commanding Officer of the frigate, said: “This has been a very busy and demanding deployment and Cumberland can be justifiably proud of the hard work and outstanding results achieved in our continuing commitment to the region.

“The variety of tasks we have undertaken, for which we have received much praise from our allies, combined with efforts at maintaining peace and stability, bear testimony to the high level of training and the commitment provided by our men and women.

“We now look forward to a well-deserved leave with families and friends who, as always, have given us constant support throughout our time away from home.”

During the deployment, the ship’s company raised a healthy total for charity through a number of evens, including a sponsored bench-press.

However, one of the highlights was a version of a ratings-grabbing TV reality show, in this case called I’m a Sailor, Get Me Out of Here… The event, on the flight deck, saw a number of the ship’s company compete in a series of challenging tasks.

The winner was SA Andy Moore, who won the chance to be marooned – landed from the ship for an all-expenses paid overnight stay ashore, courtesy Le Meridien Hotel in Dubai.

Some statistics from the deployment: the ship steamed a total of 40,920 nautical miles, which takes the total number of miles steamed since she was built to 557,700.

She burned more than 7,000 cubic metres of fuel, and replenished from seven different tankers from four nations – the UK, France, the United States and Japan.

The ship’s company worked their way through around 45,000 eggs, 1,299kg of bacon, 1,460kg of carrots, 16,474kg of potatoes and 34,862 tea bags.