June has been an interesting month so far for HMS Richmond as it featured a journey across the Indian Ocean.

Much of May was spent in the port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates for a Self-Maintenance Period (SMP). The SMP served two main purposes, it allowed a dedicated period of time to be spent in maintenance alongside in a dockyard and it afforded a spell of leave for all onboard.

When HMS Richmond sailed at the end of the month she was in a splendid condition having been thoroughly cleaned and repainted externally. In addition, the Ship’s Company were rested and refreshed after many weeks of Maritime Interdiction Operations in the Northern Arabian Gulf.

HMS Richmond sailed from Jebel Ali and traversed the Straits of Hormuz making her way to the Indian Ocean in order to conduct a Defence Diplomacy visit to Cochin the main port of the Indian state of Kerala.

The passage east from the Middle East lasted a week and afforded opportunities for the Ship’s Company to train and exercise but also to ‘unwind’ as a unit once more.

Shortly after sailing, the normal exercises were performed including ‘Man Overboard’ procedures to test out repairs to the Ship’s boats and ‘Fire’ drills to test the Ship’s response to this eventuality.

The weekend phase of the passage allowed a more restful time, with the Ship’s Company enjoying a Flight Deck barbecue and film hosted by a combined team from the port and starboard 2K messes.

On Sunday our new Padre, Reverend Tudor Botwood, who had visited us earlier in the deployment, held his first Church Service onboard. In the afternoon the Ship’s Company enjoyed the now customary ‘tea and stickies’ available on the Midships Cross Passage.

The Wardroom ‘hosted’ this occasion and the Flight Commander, Lieutenant Nigel Willing and Medical Officer, Surgeon Lieutenant Commander Chris McLean turned to in the Galley to make shortbread under the instruction of Leading Chef ‘Spider’ Kelly. Later in the morning they received help from the Executive Officer, Lieutenant Commander Richard Morris.

After this relaxation it was back to the very serious business of the ‘Commanding Officer’s Rounds’ during which the Upperdeck and Main Machinery Spaces were inspected over a two day period. Prior to these taking place everyone onboard was involved in some way or other in the cleaning, maintaining and painting that was required, notwithstanding the efforts made during the SMP.

The Rounds went well and the Commanding Officer, Commander Wayne Keble, was impressed with the efforts made and standards achieved.

As HMS Richmond was making good progress with her passage east it was possible to stop the Ship and allow the Ship’s Company the chance to enjoy the first ‘Hands to Bathe’ of the deployment. On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, a traditional time for service sports, the Off Watch personnel entered the beautiful, warm, clear waters of the Indian Ocean and amused themselves with swimming and snorkelling.

The mode of entry taken by most personnel was by way of a monkey rope-swing manned by Petty Officer ‘Cozy’ Powell, with some ‘entrances’ being more dramatic than others. The experience was an exhilarating one, and one that the crew hopes to enjoy again.

After completing her passage to India, HMS Richmond came alongside to berth in Willingdon Island, Cochin. Willingdon Island is one part of the city that is known as Cochin or Kochi. It consists of Willingdon and Fort Cochin Islands along with the mainland district of Ernakulam.

The Ship’s Company was delighted to receive a traditional welcome that featured the appearance of an elephant on the jetty. The primary aim of the visit was Defence Diplomacy in a region not visited by a United Kingdom warship since 2001.

The first event in a busy week was a tour of the Ship for the benefit of the girls of the Silesian Sisters’ Orphanage. Some forty girls, aged between 5 and 18, visited and were shown around by a team of volunteers.

The first night in featured HMS Richmond’s first formal Cocktail Party of the deployment. The party was attended by seventy guests from the local community and Indian Naval Base who were entertained by the Ship’s Officers and Senior Rates.

The Ship’s Chefs laid on the traditional selection of ‘smally eats’ and a number of volunteers from the Junior Rates’ Messes made a first class job of acting as additional stewards. The evening culminated with an impeccably performed Ceremonial Sunset against the backdrop of a beautifully warm Indian evening.

The next day the Wardroom was entertained to evening drinks and a buffet reception at the Indian Naval Base on Willingdon Island. Later in the course of the visit a group of volunteers painted parts of the Silesian Sisters’ Orphanage over two days. Other aspects of Defence Diplomacy included visits to the local church community and main trauma hospital.

Aside from the work of Defence Diplomacy, the Visit Liaison Officer, Lieutenant Mark Brindley arranged a number of tours for members of the Ship’s Company to the local attractions of Kerala. Places such as the ‘Backwaters of Kerala,’ the Periyar National Nature Reserve, the ‘Spice Village’ of Thekkady, the Kumarakom Bird Reserve, the Tea Plantations in the hills of Munnar, the Anamundi Peaks and the historical island of Fort Cochin – with its Chinese fishing nets and Jewish synagogue – were visited. For those new to Kerala the experience was both novel and fascinating.

The welcome that was extended to members of the Ship’s Company, wherever they went, was invariably friendly and enthusiastic and this was greatly appreciated.

Further entertainment was to be found onboard, with the Warrant Officers’ and Chief Petty Officers’ Mess holding a formal mess dinner on the third night alongside. This event was hugely popular with all who attended, and once again HMS Richmond’s chefs and stewards excelled themselves.

After a week alongside HMS Richmond left Willingdon Island, just prior to the late arrival of the monsoon, and sailed west once more to the Middle East. Whilst at sea the sober reality of the duties demanded by Service life were brought back to mind as members of the Ship’s Company gathered on a wet and dreary Flight Deck to participate in a memorial service for Lieutenants Rod Skidmore and Jenny Lewis on the anniversary of their deaths in last year’s tragic air accident.

HMS Richmond continues North West through the Arabian Sea bound for a period of Maritime Interdiction Operations and assessments by staff from Flag Officer Maritime Aviation and a visit from Captain Surface Ships to Commodore Portsmouth Flotilla, Capt D J R Dickens RN.