HMS Albion Update Nov 2018

The Brewers’ Company’s Royal Navy affiliation, HMS ALBION, returned from her groundbreaking deployment to the Far East on 23 November. On her journey back to the UK, Captain Tim Neil got in touch to share an update on what the ship has been up to since its departure in May 2018:

We have visited the Republic of Korea, where we established some important links with the Korean Navy and Marines. In a busy period of operations, ALBION played her part in enforcing sanctions against North Korea, working with regional partners to do so. We visited Tokyo in early August where we contributed to building a closer UK-Japan defence relationship – critical as we work to ensure regional security in the Asia-Pacific, and continue to defend the rules-based international system on which we all depend for trade and security. After operations in the South China Sea, the next stop was Vietnam, where once again ALBION trumpeted the UK's commitment to peace, security and prosperity and we laid the groundwork for a more fruitful, closer working relationship with an increasingly important regional State. In Brunei, we undertook a joint amphibious beach assault with the Bruneian Armed Forces, building on a decades-old partnership between our two nations. Finally, we returned to Singapore, where we continued our earlier work to re-kindle a friendship with a long-standing regional friend. Happily, we visited on the weekend of the Singapore Grand Prix, which enabled a number of our sailors to have probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend. 

And, you will be pleased to know that we have done our bit for British Brewers in the Far East by purchasing beer brewed by Company members at every opportunity!

With mixed emotions we left the Asia Pacific region in mid-September, and sailed west to Oman, where we operated until the beginning of November. We participated in Exercise SAIF SAREEA 3, which is designed to underpin the importance of the UK's bi-lateral relationship with Oman. I am pleased to say, it has been a roaring success, with ALBION operating in a mixed UK/Omani task group and co-operating closely with our Omani partners. 

I am delighted to be able to reflect on the successes the ship has enjoyed since leaving the UK nearly 10 months ago. The Secretary of State for Defence visited us as we sailed from Oman specifically to express his thanks to the Ship's Company for a job well done. It has truly been an incredible year for ALBION.