HMS Sabre returned to water this week after completing its annual maintenance package.

The annual 30-day package requires the ship to be craned out of the water onto a shore-side cradle and included an emptying and cleaning of all its tanks, deep cleaning and a full survey to ensure that the ship remains safe to go to sea.  

Sabre's Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Lloyd Cardy said: “HMS Sabre and her sister ship HMS Scimitar have provided valuable service in different guises for 25 years.  

"The way we achieve longevity like that is by careful and regular maintenance, both by the ships’ engineers and with the assistance from external contractors.

"This annual maintenance package is vital to ensuring that we can keep these vessels at the short notice required for our tasking here in Gibraltar. 

"There is a lot of excitement within the Squadron about the replacement craft arriving over the next couple of years but we remain very much focussed on the here and now, and that is ensuring that our current units remain ready for operations.”

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