UK's Most Advanced Warship Docks At Port Klang

PORT KLANG (Selangor, Malaysia), Jan 24 (Bernama) -- HMS Daring, United Kingdom's most advanced warship, made its call Thursday at the Port Klang Cruise Centre here, marking the end of the Asean portion of the ship's deployment. The ship's commanding officer, Commander Angus Essenhigh said the three-day port visit would provide an opportunity for the naval officers to strengthen maritime relations with the Royal Malaysian Navy, through various interaction programmes, including visits to the ships, sports matches and exercises at sea. "The ship's visit here today (Thursday) will be the final South East Asia regional port call before heading home after eight months away from its base in the United Kingdom," he told reporters on an organised tour on board the ship. Essenhigh said the warship, the first British Type 45 Destroyer, was the first Royal Navy warship to visit Malaysia since 2009. "However, in November last year, the ship joined ships and submarines from the Five Power Defence Arrangments (FPDA) nations which includes Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and United Kingdom for Exercise BERSAMA LIMA'13," he added. Essenhigh said HMS Daring, which was commissioned in 2009, was involved in providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief from the United Kingdom to the people of the Philipppines, following the Typhoon Haiyan tragedy. The ship is scheduled to visit the Cochin port in India before returning to its homebase. -- BERNAMA