From County Moray to South East Asia, HMS Spey celebrates Scottish heritage on St Andrew’s day
30th November 2024, St Andrews day, the Royal Navy’s Batch 2 River Class Offshore Patrol vessel HMS SPEY, named for County Moray’s own river Spey, proudly hoists the green, gold and blue of the County Moray flag, a testament to the ship’s affiliation with the county and its Scottish heritage. However, it was not the breeze of the Scottish highlands which took the flag but the warmer air of Singapore where the ship was alongside conducting essential engineering maintenance.
The County Moray Flag hoisted on HMS Spey for St Andrew’s day. Photographer Lt Stancliffe
HMS SPEY was not the only Scottish representative in the South East Asian country for St Andrew’s day. The Secretary of State for Scotland, The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP, was also in Singapore on a trade focused visit as part of the Brand Scotland initiative. Taking opportunity of the SPEY’s presence, the Secretary paid a visit to take a tour of the ship, meet the crew, and received a brief about her operational output for 2024.
2024 has been a busy year for HMS SPEY where she has been forward-deployed to the Indo-Pacific region as part of the UK’s commitment to regional security and free and open trade routes. Operating primarily in the South East Asia region, HMS SPEY has conducted a variety of maritime security and defence engagement “firsts” for the Royal Navy in 2024.
The Secretary of State for Scotland, The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP with HMS SPEY’s Commanding Officer Cdr Paul Caddy and officers on the ship’s Fo’c’s’le. Photographer Lt Stancliffe.
To kick off the New Year the patrol ship enjoyed a period of sustained defence engagement in India, and maintenance in the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet dockyard at Visakhapatnam; the first time in 30 years the RN have been permitted into the military port there and an important step in growing defence partnership between the UK and India.
Spring saw the ship working in and around South Korea and Japan including a period of UN Security Council Resolution operations with the Republic of Korea Navy in the East China Sea. This was the first time the Republic of Korea Navy had ever conducted bilateral patrols with another nation, a historic moment for the RN and the UK-RoK relationship. In another first for SPEY, drones from 700X Naval Air Squadron flew from on board, showcasing the versatility of River Class Ships as the RN’s most adaptable toolkit and enabling the ship to capture discrete footage of fuel being transhipped without alerting smugglers to the patrol vessel’s presence.
SPEY spent the summer completing a period of Fleet Operational Standards and Training in Malaysian waters before berthing in Singapore where, alongside ships of the UK’s Littoral Response Group (South), she supported the British High Commission in a series of events demonstrating the UK’s defence capabilities and commitment to the security, freedom and prosperity of its regional partners.
Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, SPEY conducted her 2nd visit in as many years to the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, where she trained with the Royal Cambodia Navy (RCN). Building on a recent classroom-based training delivered by the Royal New Zealand Navy, SPEY led firefighting, navigation, casualty rescue at sea and emergency first aid training. The combined efforts of longstanding allies the UK and New Zealand to help develop the RCN’s capabilities is an important step in achieving both nations’ mission to work with and develop regional partners to ensure regional security and prosperity.
Upon departing Cambodia SPEY kicked off October by joining exercise BERSAMA LIMA 24. Meaning “together five” in Malay, BERSAMA LIMA is an annual Fiver Powers Defence Arrangement (FPDA) military exercise between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK.
As part of the maritime section of the exercise, operating in Malaysian territorial waters, SPEY was involved in diverse naval warfare scenarios including air defence exercises, escort missions and naval gun firing serials alongside the Royal Malaysian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy. The ships were joined at sea by the air contingent of the exercise to form up in “Formation BERSAMA” including for the first time in a FPDA exercise the Royal Australian Air Force’s F-35A Lightning fighter jet.
Formation BERSAMA from Exercise BERSAMA LIMA 24. HMS SPEY is the ship to the right. The F-35A lighting is in the centre.
Heading next to Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, SPEY continued her streak of firsts by conducting the first ever Royal Navy & Philippines Navy (PN) bilateral patrol with the PN’s flagship the JOSE RIZAL, cross decking personnel and conducting various maritime exercises.
November saw the beginning of planned engineering maintenance period for the ship, based out of the British Defence Singapore Support Unit. The Secretary of State for Scotland’s visit on St Andrew’s day came as the ship prepared to return to sea following the successful completion of her maintenance package, continuing to represent Scottish heritage as part of the Royal Navy’s legacy by protecting the security and interests of the United Kingdom from overseas.
