Sailors from a Polish Naval ship have been using the facilities at HMS Raleigh in preparation for their operational sea training.
The ORP Pulaski is in Plymouth for six weeks training with Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST). Training consists of one week’s harbour training and then five weeks at sea, when the ship’s company will be tested and assessed on their ability to operate in a range of scenarios.
At HMS Raleigh, the ship’s seamanship team spent a day using the establishment’s replenishment-at-sea training facility.
Known as the RAS trainer, the facility replicates the equipment found on warships and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, to transfer stores and fuel from ship-to-ship, while underway at sea.
Warrant Officer 1 John Biggs, the lead seamanship trainer for FOST, said: “Within replenishment although the procedures are basically the same, every Navy has their own way of doing things.
“We bring the Ship’s Company of foreign navies over here, firstly to establish their base level of training and, also because we are going to be using Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers for their time at sea. We’ll show them the intricacies of our tankers, which they maybe are not used to.”
HMS Raleigh’s RAS trainer was opened in 2014. It was originally built to trial equipment for the new Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers, but was later remodelled for training.
The facility is now used to teach sailors what is, considered to be one of the most hazardous tasks undertaken at sea, in a safe and controlled environment.
ORP Pulaski’s ship’s bosun, Chief Warrant Officer Skrzypowski said: “The facility is great. I’m very impressed. It seems to me that the training is very good for our team and our crew. “
"It’s going very well and I’m glad to see my crew working here. I’m sure we can take advantage of the skills we learn.”
One of two Oliver Hazard Perry class guided missile frigates of the Polish navy, the ORP Pulaski formally belonged to the United States Navy and was named USS Clark.
The ship was transferred to the Polish Navy in 2000 and named after General Kazimierz Pulaski, an American Revolutionary War hero in the USA and an independence hero in Poland.
FOST has established a worldwide reputation for excellence, providing operational sea training for all surface ships, submarines and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries of the Royal Navy and an increasing number of NATO and foreign navies.
