Under
the NATO agreement whereby alliance nations co-operate to monitor activity,
the Royal Navy took over from French surveillance and sent the Fleet
Ready Escort, a warship maintained at high-readiness for tasks in UK
waters.
The Russian warship Yaroslav Mudryy is a Neustrashimy class frigate
and was sailing with her accompanying tanker, the Kola.
Commander Paul Hammond, Commanding Officer of HMS Argyll, said: “We
are one of the Royal Navy’s high readiness ships and we knew
we could be called upon to respond a range of duties, such as monitoring
a Russian warship, at short notice.
“The vast majority of the ship’s company, myself included,
returned from a highly successful Atlantic Patrol Task (North) deployment
just before Christmas. To be ready to undertake this duty after a
short period of leave and maintenance is a testimony to their hard
work and the capability of this ship.”
Based in Plymouth,
HMS Argyll is the longest-serving Type 23 frigate in the Royal Navy.
She has recently completed a very successful deployment to the Caribbean
and North Atlantic on Atlantic Patrol Task (North). During that deployment
she successful seized £77million (€100 million) of drugs,
assisted Bermuda following Hurricane Gonzalo and hosted a Royal visit.
