Operational History
Mounts Bay took part in the 2006 Vela Deployment. The deployment lasted from 11 September until 22 November 2006. In total approximately 3,000 British personnel and eleven ships of the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary were involved. This deployment saw for the first time, an Albion-class vessel, HMS Albion taking part in amphibious operations with a Bay class vessel. The deployment was divided into two phases, the first in local waters and the second in waters off the coast of Sierra Leone. For this deployment she was fitted with the Bowman communications system.
Mounts Bay demonstrated her lifting capability by transporting in excess of 130 vehicles, for the passage from the UK via Lisbon to Sierra Leone. After completing the Vela Deployment, she returned to the UK to load vehicles and equipment for Exercise Clockwork in northern Norway. She reached Sørreisa on 9 December. Sørreisa is within the Arctic Circle and is the furthest north any Bay class vessel has been so far. After discharging her cargo, Mounts Bay returned to the UK, successfully completing operations from the Equator to the Arctic Circle in the last three months of 2006.
She attended the Dover Maritime Careers Festival on 23–24 March 2007, mooring at the Dover Western Docks. She was also in Fowey on 22 August 2008 for the regatta week. Mounts Bay was involved in Exercise Joint Warrior 2008, along with HMS Bulwark, which acted as the Fleets Amphibious Flagship. HMS Ark Royal and HMS Illustrious also took part in the two week exercise off Scotland.
She attended The Tall Ships' Races event in Belfast Northern Ireland between 14–17 August 2009 which was the finishing line for the competition.
In April 2011, she was deployed as part of the Response Force Task Group's COUGAR'11 deployment.
In early 2012, she joined the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and fleet flagship HMS Bulwark to partake in Exercise ‘Joint Warrior’ and other training missions with warships from the United States, Norway and the Netherlands.
On Armed Forces Day 2012, June 30, she fired the salute in Plymouth as part of a steampast alongside HMS Argyll, the Earl of Wessex was in attendance alongside the First Sea Lord.
Read more about this topic: RFA Mounts Bay (L3008)
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