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HMS Kent stops off in
Dover

It's not often that you see such a variety of ships berthed
alongside each other at Dover cruise terminal.

As well as the cruise ship Regatta, the Polish sail training
ship Dar Mlodziezy was at the port as part of a celebration of the
composer Chopin, and a concert by the Polish National Radio
Symphony Orchestra at Dover Town Hall, and the Royal Navy frigate
HMS Kent was here as part of its affiliation with the county and
the Cinque Ports.

The Polish ship and HMS Kent were open to the public at
different times, and the only problem was that Dar Mlodziezy was
due to have tied up alongside the Prince of Wales Pier, but was
moved to the cruise terminal "for operational reasons".

That was disappointing for the many people who missed the single
notice on an already open gate and walked down the pier, only to
find they were in the wrong place and then had to decide whether to
make the journey round to the cruise terminal.

But it did give some of the Polish crew the opportunity to
visit HMS Kent, and see for themselves how a Royal Navy type 23
frigate operates.

Also taking advantage of a tour of the ship were various groups
from the county, including pupils from Ripple Vale School and the
Duke of York's Royal Military School.

It had been three years since the ship was last in Dover. Other
visits had been planned, but had to be postponed because the ship
was needed elsewhere.

Commander Nick Cooke-Priest was pleased to be in Dover and
stressed the importance of the such visits.

"Most of the time we are operating 'over the horizon', out of
sight and possibly out of mind of most people," he said.

"So this is a chance to meet them and show them what we do.

"It gives us an excellent opportunity to renew our links with
this great seafaring town and thank everyone for the support that
we have received and continue to receive from organisations and
people in Kent."

The ship is the 12th to bear the county's name and was visiting
Dover prior to a deployment to Gibraltar followed by a re-fit.

Originally designed for anti-submarine warfare, the frigate has
evolved into a multi-purpose ship capable of operating anywhere in
the world.

Among the 170 crew is Shaun Warren, 19, who was born in Dover
and has spent all his life in Deal.

A former pupil at Mongeham Primary School and Castle Community
College, Shaun went to South Kent College in Dover to go a
mechanics course before deciding to join the Royal Navy.

"My uncle served in the Royal Navy and I wanted to join when I
was younger," he said.

"Having studied mechanics at college, I decided to come back to
my original plan and become a mechanical engineer."

Shaun spent some time in Plymouth and around the British coast
before joining HMS Kent in July.

He will be leaving the ship when it goes for refit in December,
and will then transfer to the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious.

HMS Kent was built on the Clyde and launched in May 1998 by
Princess Alexandra. Among the groups the ship is affiliated to are
TS Churchill in Ashford, TS Narvik in Bromley, TS Kent in
Chisleshurst and TS Brilliant in Tunbridge Wells.

Her affiliated Combined Cadet Force units are Maidstone Grammar
School and Sutton Valence School, and she is also affiliated to the
Royal Navy Association branches in Maidstone and Folkestone.

HMS Kent is one of the most advanced class of ships in the Royal
Navy and carries out numerous roles in national and international
waters.

Peace-time tasks include disaster relief work, sanctions
enforcement and peace-keeping, and in war-time she has a capability
of acting as a formidabled general purpose unit with anti-ship
missiles, anti-submarine torpedoes, depth charges, machine guns and
a gun which can fire up to 15 miles.

In 2008 she deplopyed to the Far East for a multi-national
exercise, and last year spent seven months in the northern Arabian
Gulf conducting counter terrorism duties, anti-smuggling andpiracy
operations and protecting Iraqi oil platforms.

This year she has been involving in defence diplomacy work with
visits to La Coruna, Gothenburg and Stockholm.

The crew have also taken part in another exercise with the
French, Americans and Russians.