UK Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Trent arrives in Ghana

 As part of a three month-long deployment, Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Trent has arrived in Accra. The British High Commission, in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the ship built in Scotland, had sailed from the UK to the waters of the Gulf of Guinea, visiting Ghana as well as Nigeria, Senegal, Gambia and Cape Verde for security patrols.

It is also a mission to support the UK’s allies in West Africa.

It said Royal Marines from 42 Commandos were on board and that the specialist unit would train military personnel from partner countries, including Ghana.

The statement said the 42 Commandos were experts in boarding operations, helping to end illegal maritime activities like piracy, drugs-smuggling and terrorism.

It said the training they would deliver to Ghana’s Armed Forces would include boarding and searching of suspicious vessels, evidence handling, and medical skills.

Madam Harriet Thompson, the British High Commissioner, said: “HMS Trent’s deployment to Ghana shows the UK-Ghana security partnership in action: a mutually beneficial partnership built on the sharing of expertise, intelligence and training.”

“The arrival of HMS Trent strengthens our shared commitment to ensure that Ghana continues to be recognised as a world-renowned peacekeeper strengthened through the skills and experience of the British Armed Forces.”

The statement said during the ship’s visit, she would also host an Ocean Dialogue event.

It said the event would enable the UK, Ghana and the international partners to reflect on managing the risks to Ghana’s ocean environment from over fishing and pollution, and look at how commitments and initiatives such as those emerging from Cop26 could be tackled.

Commander Thomas Knott, the HMS Trent’s Commanding Officer, said: “TRENT is conducting her first Maritime Security deployment to West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea and the regional knowledge of my sailors and commandos is rapidly improving.”

“Our visit to Ghana is essential in strengthening our partnership with the Ghanaian Navy so that we’re always ready to respond together from piracy interdiction operations to lifesaving assistance at sea.”

HMS Trent is one of five Royal Navy patrol ships currently operating around the world in areas of critical importance to the UK – from the Indo-Pacific, South Atlantic to the Mediterranean and Caribbean.

This is part of the Royal Navy’s Forward Presence programme that seeks to position patrol ships around the globe ready to respond to global events.

HMS Trent was commissioned in 2020 and built in the Clyde, Scotland.

The River-class patrol ship is the third of five new Offshore Patrol Vessels built to replace the Navy’s current fleet of River-class vessels.