Pembroke’s affiliated warship is set to visit the area following an intense period of NATO operations.

Royal Navy mine hunter HMS Pembroke has recently been with Standing Mine Counter Measures Group 1 (SMCMG1 for short) working with international navies to locate and dispose of wartime ordnance in the Baltic Sea.

Until July 12, the Sandown Class ship and her crew will stop-off at Milford Haven Dock to renew their close links with the area. There will be a chance for the public to visit the ship from 12 noon - 4 pm both tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday.

Commanding Officer of HMS Pembroke, Lieutenant Commander Jim Lovell, said: “It is always a pleasure to be able to visit Pembroke because both the ship and crew are guaranteed a very warm welcome.

“We hope to be able to open the ship to visitors during our visit and show people some of the equipment we use to help keep sea lanes safe from the threat of maritime mines.”

HMS Pembroke has been working as part of a task group consisting of 14 NATO and partner nations, including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United States.

Operating off the coast of Lithuania from May 16 to 27, in total the team covered 54 square nautical miles - around 185 square kilometres - of seabed, scanning and identifying some 912 objects.

Eighteen of those - 15 mines and three torpedoes - turned out to be explosive ordnance and were tackled by the task group. HMS Pembroke used her high-tech sonar to locate a Russian First World War mine in the approaches to Klaipeda harbour. The ship then deployed a remote underwater vehicle to dive down to positively identify the object, before Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Divers took to the water to get rid of the 100-year-old mine.

Shortly afterwards, on May 31, the crew of HMS Pembroke had the chance to pay their respects during a commemoration at sea for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland.

The mine hunter met with four other ships from NATO nations exactly 100 years after the major maritime battle. As part of the remembrance, three members of HMS Pembroke’s ship’s company joined representatives from other ships on board the German replenishment vessel Donau. There the sailors paid a poignant tribute to the 9,823 sailors from both sides who tragically lost their lives.

HMS Pembroke enjoys affiliations with Pembroke’s Mayor and council, the Royal Naval Association Pembroke, and Pembroke College Junior in Cambridge.