The Type 23 frigate HMS Lancaster arrived in Bahrain for the final time on December 5, concluding a 34-year operational career. Flying a paying-off pennant to mark the length of her service, the warship was greeted by a 34-gun salute and the Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines from HMS Collingwood.
The 4,500-tonne vessel powered down her engines after recording 4,097 days at sea and covering 816,000 nautical miles (1.51 million kilometres). Launched by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990 and commissioned in May 1992,
HMS Lancaster spent the majority of her service based in Portsmouth before transferring to Plymouth and, for the final three years, operating from the UK Naval Support Facility in Bahrain.
During her recent deployment, the frigate was the first ship on task in the Red Sea during heightened threat activity in December 2023. She also completed numerous narcotics seizures totalling approximately £150 million, according to the navy.
Her duties ranged from counter-piracy operations and drug interdiction to evacuating civilians from Sudan.
Commander Sam Stephens, the ship's final Commanding Officer, stated, “This final period at sea has proved the ship continues to perform at the same exceptional standard as when she first commissioned.”
Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Steve Moorhouse, who commanded the ship between 2011 and 2013, noted that the vessel had served almost double her original 18-year lifespan. The crew will return to the UK for Christmas as the ship is prepared for disposal.