Four coastal forces craft leave Portsmouth at the beginning of February for a four-
month mission – mostly in the fjords of Norway. HMS Biter, Blazer, Exploit and Trumpeter will leave Portsmouth, making their way around 1,750 miles via the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, eventually reaching their destination north of Tromsø in time for the large-scale international winter exercises Joint Viking and Nordic Response
month mission – mostly in the fjords of Norway. HMS Biter, Blazer, Exploit and Trumpeter will leave Portsmouth, making their way around 1,750 miles via the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, eventually reaching their destination north of Tromsø in time for the large-scale international winter exercises Joint Viking and Nordic Response
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 So Cameron, you're captain of HMS Expoit, how do you think, is your ship well prepared
00:12 ahead of the expedition stop?
00:13 Yeah very well prepared, our first support stop will be Ramsgate on our longer journey
00:18 up to the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway.
00:21 We're deploying as part of exercise Steadfast Defender but our part of the first exercise
00:25 will be Joint Viking, so that's working primarily with the KJK, the Norwegian Coastal Rangers
00:32 and the Skald Class Corvettes.
00:33 So it's definitely expeditious, it's the longest, furthest north deployment that P2000s have
00:40 ever done.
00:41 So yeah, it's a good day, hopefully the weather holds and we can get out the door.
00:46 What sort of things will you be doing on exercise Joint Viking?
00:48 So as I said, working with the Coastal Rangers and some other units up there, so that will
00:54 be primarily sort of whatever they task us under their umbrella of operations up there.
01:01 Clearly it's their back garden so we'll be working closely with them and learning from
01:06 them as well.
01:07 Again, we've not operated up there properly for a good number of years so this will be
01:11 really exciting to learn from them.
01:13 Have you been on exercises where you've been deployed to the spin forward but not like
01:17 this before?
01:18 Yeah, so last year I deployed to the Baltic in Exploit for two and a half months, just
01:22 after the King's Coronation.
01:23 We were in London and then went straight to the Baltic for two months for Bolt Ops and
01:27 that's the traditional P2000 deployment in the summer, good weather, working with NATO
01:32 navies, sort of defending them, attacking them etc. as part of the exercise.
01:37 This is a complete step change for us.
01:39 We're going at the complete other end of the year, the weather's not going to play ball
01:42 I'm sure but we will be going a lot further north in completely different conditions and
01:48 I think it's going to be a lot more serious exercise.
01:51 It's part of NATO's biggest land and maritime exercise in a long time.
01:57 So I'm very excited to go on this deployment.
02:00 I'm definitely lying if I'm saying I'm not nervous but I am definitely nervous about
02:04 it.
02:05 I think it's just more like being away from home that I'm nervous about but I'm so excited
02:09 to go to Norway.
02:10 It's been one of my bucket lists for a while now.
02:13 We've basically been told that it's like a NATO exercise, working with allies and we're
02:17 going to the fjords.
02:20 So how do you think you'll be able to cope with the weather in the fjords?
02:24 I think it'll be definitely cold but we've got a lot of gear to help us with that and
02:29 I think with the clothing that they've gave us we should be absolutely fine.
02:35 What do you think you'll look forward to the most?
02:38 I'm definitely excited to go to the fjords.
02:40 I've never been and I'm definitely excited to go and see all the views and the northern
02:44 lights as well.
02:45 Anything else properly ahead?
02:46 Yeah, no not really.
02:47 Why was Norway on your bucket list?
02:52 What made you want to go there?
02:53 I think it was just more the northern lights, the scenery and the views.
02:58 I think it's just a beautiful place in general.
03:02 So Elliot, your first deployment, how are you feeling ahead of it?
03:06 I'm really looking forward to it, yeah.
03:07 I'm pretty optimistic about the deployment itself and looking forward to the challenges
03:11 that lay ahead.
03:12 What made you decide to join the Royal Navy?
03:16 It was something I always thought I was going to do.
03:19 I was up for a bit of a challenge and it's a bit of a different workplace as it's a turn
03:23 to working in the normal 95.
03:24 As a Yorkshireman are you happy now that you're down south and preparing to go on a large
03:30 expedition to the Norwegian fjords?
03:33 Yeah, so I'm back down south now and heading back north, further north than I've ever been
03:36 before so I'm happy about that.
03:40 What sort of things do you think you'll learn on the exercise itself?
03:43 I think it'll actually really bring my skills all together in terms of just being fresh
03:48 out of training.
03:49 I do feel pretty fortunate to be working with a small tight-knit crew and hopefully not
03:54 have the pressure too much having a larger vessel and get everything in place.
03:59 I think.
03:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]