Palma.She set sail from Portsmouth in early February at the start of a four month NATO mission in the Mediterranean during which time she is working as part of a permanent multinational maritime force in the area called the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group 2 (SNMCMG2).
Ships from allied nations work together throughout the year defending sea routes from the threat of underwater mines and carrying out joint training exercises.
Commitment
The deployment demonstrates the UK's long-standing commitment to NATO and outlines the importance of the Royal Navy's role within the organisation. Cattistock, like her sisters, is built from glass-reinforced plastic usually shortened to GRP with a nonmagnetic hull that makes her somewhat less noticeable to the lurking dangers in the minefield. Cattistock was built by Vosper Thornycroft, and commissioned into the Navy in June 1982.
The capabilities of the eight vessels of the Hunt class have been significantly enhanced by the installation of Sonar Type 2193 and the NAUTIS 3 command system. The performance of Sonar 2193 exceeds that of any other mine hunting sonar in service in the world today and is capable of detecting and classifying an object the size of a football at a distance of up to 1'000 metres.
Weekend cricket
Once she sets sail from Palma tomorrow after a five day visit, she will return to operational duties in the Mediterranean alongside Turkish and Italian naval vessels.
However, she is expected back this weekend to play cricket against the Mallorca Cricket Club.
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