HMS Shoreham: Back to 2007 for the triumphant return of HMS Shoreham to Shoreham
and live on Freeview channel 276
The 600-tonne, 52-metre-long, Sandown-class minesweeper arrived in Shoreham Harbour for a four-day stay, which included a cocktail party for local dignitaries.
Lieutenant Commander Nick Borbone, a former Worthing school pupil, took command of HMS Shoreham in March that year.
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Hide AdHe told the Herald at the time: “We are named after the town and we have got some very strong links with some of the local authorities and organisations in the Sussex region.
"They support us very well when we go on our travels. It is nice for us to come back and give all these people a close-up view of their own ship and the opportunity to talk to some of the ship’s company.”
Lt Cdr Borbone added taking the ship into Shoreham had been quite a homecoming for him.
“I am a local lad. I went to Durrington High School and I went to TS Vanguard as a cadet, which was my inspiration for joining the Navy,” he said. “That was some 22 years ago. This is as close as I can get to my home town on a ship.”
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Hide AdIn August, 2007, HMS Shoreham returned from an operational tour of the Mediterranean, having been away for four months as part of the UK mine-hunting 'on call' force.
After leaving Shoreham, the ship was due to travel to Faslane Naval Base, in Scotland, before preparing to head for the Gulf the following year.
Lt Cdr Borbone said: “It is a fantastic ship. We have got a great ship’s company – a very strong team, and very capable. We have got one of the most sophisticated warships in the Royal Navy.”
At the time, HMS Shoreham carried two remote operating vehicles – miniature submarines – which were controlled from the ship.