Taurus 09
In April the task group participated in Exercise Egemen, a NATO amphibious training operation in Turkey, alongside Turkish, Dutch and Belgian personnel.
A reduced task group proceeded East of Suez, where underwater warfare exercises were carried out in the Arabian Sea.
[2] It was also intended to refresh the traditional sea-fighting capability of the Royal Marines at a time when many were deployed on land operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[3] Another goal was to develop the Royal Navy's capability of working alongside NATO allies and forces from other nations and to demonstrate the UK's commitment to security in the Mediterranean region.
[11] The 847 Naval Air Squadron and the Fleet Diving Unit also participated in the exercise, which involved 2,500 Royal Navy personnel.
[12] After traversing the Suez Canal a group of vessels, including Ocean, Somerset, Talent, Wave Ruler and Mitscher successfully transited the Gulf of Aden between Yemen and Somalia, scene of recent pirate activity.
[16] Taurus 09 also carried out a trial of Raytheon's Deep Siren Tactical Paging system designed to communicate with submerged submarines at distances in excess of 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi).
[21] The task group returned home after the Brunei exercises, which marked their furthest travel east (at 114 degrees longitude).
[14] During the return journey 81 members of the crew of Somerset rowed the length of the Suez Canal, in 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) legs, in a time of 10 hours and 40 minutes.
[14] On the return journey Wave Ruler visited Valletta, Malta from 16 July 2009 to carry out an operational stand down and changeover of crew.
[22] Wave Ruler was a particularly active member of the task group, providing fuel and other supplies on more than 100 occasions, and travelling 35,000 nautical miles (65,000 km; 40,000 mi); she returned to Devonport on 2 August 2009.
[23] The deployment covered 20,400 miles (32,800 km) and involved 3,300 Royal Navy personnel, at its maximum strength, training with 17 foreign nations.
