Four complete ship’s companies are trading places as the Fleet’s ‘Sea Swap’ initiative to keep vessels in theatre longer reaches Bahrain and the Aintree minehunting task force.

The crews of HMS Blyth and Ramsey have completed their six months taking their respective vessels from Faslane to the Gulf and working with Allied navies in challenging mine warfare conditions.

The hulls themselves will remain in the region until at least the end of next year, but sailors of all eight Sandown-class are being rotated through Blyth and Ramsey to give them the chance to operate in the Gulf.

First to swap are Penzance and Pembroke. Each exchange requires 80 men and women coming home... and 80 men and women flying out to Bahrain, the forward base for the ships, to take over.

Both Pembroke’s and Penzance’s sailors received the full work-up training package in home waters; the crews of Blyth and Ramsey took over their ships after three weeks’ well-deserved leave.

And in the Gulf, Pembroke’s sailors have stepped into the steaming bats of the men and women of HMS Ramsey, while Penzance’s crew took over from Blyth’s team.

“At first glance it might sound simple to swap crews around,” said Cdre Keith Winstanley, UK Maritime Component Commander in charge of joint maritime operations in the Gulf.

“Moving every single officer and sailor off two combat-ready warships and replacing them with a completely fresh, but thoroughly-trained and ready-for-action, crew takes quite a bit of doing.”

Before coming home, Blyth’s and Ramsey’s sailors worked with three US minehunters based in Bahrain – USS Ardent, Scout and Gladiator – plus Pakistani and French warships (the latter navy has two minehunter-sweepers in the Gulf at present) on exercises and conducting route survey work to update charts of Gulf waters.

Last stop before Blighty was the souk in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, where the sailors picked up some fine presents for home – notably jewellery – and other gizzits of rather more dubious quality – stuffed camals, fake Rolex watches and the obligatory mosque alarm clock.

As the two ships’ crews returned to the UK, Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent said Blyth and Ramsey had “set the bar high” during the first six months of the trial.

Other ships involved in the Sea Swap experiment are Edinburgh/Exeter, Sutherland and Monmouth.