HMS Ocean (L12) - Service History

Service History

While Ocean was undertaking the warm water element of her first-of-class trials, she provided humanitarian assistance in Honduras following Hurricane Mitch. During 2000 Ocean supported Operation Palliser in Sierra Leone, joining Illustrious aiding the suppression of rebel activity with her own EMF and providing support facilities for the Spearhead battalion ashore.

On 17 February 2002, a unit of Royal Marines from Ocean accidentally landed in the San Felipe beach in the Spanish town of La Linea instead of Gibraltar causing a minor diplomatic incident as various media outlets labelled the mistake as an "invasion".

Ocean was part of a large Royal Navy task force deployed for Operation Telic, the UK contribution to the 2003 Iraq War. In the helicopter assault role she was accompanied by Ark Royal.

In the summer of 2006, she was deployed as part of the task force involved in the Aurora exercises on the eastern seaboard of the United States.

In 2007, Ocean began her first long refit period. This was carried out by Devonport Management Limited at their Devonport Royal Dockyard facility and lasted around twelve months, during which period, Ark Royal took over the LPH role. Ocean sailed from Plymouth on Wednesday 24 September 2008 to start sea trials, following this major period of maintenance and upgrading work. As part of that upgrade a PyTEC pyrolysising waste recycling unit was fitted.

On 18 February 2009, Ocean sailed from Devonport as part of the Taurus 09 deployment under Commander UK Amphibious Task Group, Commodore Peter Hudson. She was joined on this deployment by landing platform dock Bulwark, as Hudson's flagship, Type 23 Frigates Argyll and Somerset and four ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

In June 2009, she took part in exercise Bersama Shield with Somerset and RFA Wave Ruler off the Malay Peninsula.

During the air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption Prime Minister Gordon Brown assigned Ocean and other units to rescue stranded travellers and army personnel across the English Channel in Operation Cunningham.

In 2010 she was deployed on a multi-purpose deployment. This started with exercise Auriga on the eastern coast of the USA. She then moved to Brazil to conduct exercise with the Brazilian marines, whilst there a defence cooperation agreement was signed on board. She then crossed the Atlantic heading for Nigeria to both participate in the Nigeria at 50 presidential fleet review and capacity building with the Nigerian navy as part of the African partnership progamme.

In April 2011, She was deployed as the follow on ship for the RN's Response Force Task Group (RFTG) COUGAR 11 deployment. During this deployment, she took part part in Exercise Cypriot Lion

In May 2011, she was detached from the COUGAR 11 deployment of the Response Force Task Group and sent with embarked Apaches to aid operations in Libya along with the attack helicopters aboard the French amphibious assault ship Tonnerre. This marks the first time Apache helicopters have been sent into action from a Royal Navy ship. Her initial complement of three Apaches was bolstered by a fourth soon after, and later a fifth.

On the 4 May 2012, she moored at Greenwich to prepare for her role of providing logistics support, accommodation and a helicopter landing site during the London 2012 Olympic Games. From the 24 to 28 May 2012 she visited Sunderland, her affiliated port, and made other port calls before returning to London on the 13th July.