MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Iron Duke back in UK after Caribbean and Falklands patrolling

<i>HMS Iron Duke</i> returns from successful Atlantic deployment

Royal Navy warship HMS Iron Duke returned to Portsmouth on Thursday from operations in the Atlantic which included a £50 million drug bust in the Caribbean, combined patrolling around the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and navigating the iceberg-infested Antarctic Convergence Zone

The Type 23 frigate began her seven-month deployment with counter drug operations in the Caribbean and in September headed for the cooler climes of the South Atlantic. With HRH Prince William on board as part of his tri-service military training, Iron Duke was in the thick of the action just four days after arriving in the Caribbean. The ship's Lynx helicopter intercepted a speedboat laden with £50m of cocaine off the coast of Barbados. The 50ft boat was thought to be carrying the illicit cargo to be sold on the streets of Europe or West Africa. In August Iron Duke was called on to support both the UK Overseas Territories of the Cayman Isles and Turks and Caicos Islands in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. In Grand Turk more than 100 members of the ship's company were sent ashore to restore essential services and provide shelter for the population of the devastated island. Late September saw the ship head for the Falkland Islands where she spent five weeks on patrol, providing reassurance to the Islanders and working alongside the Army and RAF. Her Commanding Officer, Commander Mark Newland, said: "The last seven months have been among the most challenging and rewarding of my naval career. After the counter drug and hurricane relief operations in the Caribbean region, the change in tasking to the South Atlantic presented a subtly different challenge, one which Iron Dukerose to. I am immensely proud of my ship's company for all they have achieved over this deployment and I delighted that we are now all back home in time for Christmas." HMS Northumberland took over from HMS Iron Duke, but she is currently on a special assignment under EU command along the coast of East Africa escorting food aid convoys and countering piracy in the area.