United Kingdom's naval ship HMS Lancaster docks at Cochin Port

After three days of naval exercise along the west coast of the country, the Royal British Navy's frigate ship HMS Lancaster arrived at the Cochin port on Thursday.

The joint exercise with the Indian Navy, titled "Konkan 2023", commenced on March 20 and concluded on March 22.

HMS Lancaster conducted anti-submarine exercises, helicopter operations and various other maneouvres along with the Indian Navy's frigate ship INS Trishul.

The 133-metre Duke-class Type 23 frigate of the Royal British Navy, which is also known as 'the Queen's Frigate', was opened to media personnel for a tour on board at the Cochin port where it has been docked for crew change.

Apart from the crew change of around 200 personnel, the British High Commission is also organising an onboard reception and symposium on maritime challenges and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region.

The crew change happens every four months or so, Commander Paul Irving, the commanding officer of HMS Lancaster, told the media, adding that the process includes handing over everything from stores to ammunition.

Irving said the interoperability between the two navies was perfect.

"We carried out an exercise with the INS Trishul as part of the Konkan 2023 exercise series off the western front coast. We had a fantastic time with the Indian Naval personnel for three days. We exchanged personnel between the two ships so we could see both the ships... Really, a good opportunity to build partnership and make friends. We could learn a lot from each other," he said.

Irving added that out of the nearly 200 crew members, 15 per cent are females including three officers -- medical officer, marine engineering and operations officer.

Lt Cdr Charlie Stevenson, who interacted with the media, said HMS Lancaster left Britain in August 2022 and has been making port calls at the Gulf region. "The last port of call was in Muscat. We will sail off next week," Stevenson said.

The thirty-year-old ship underwent a major life extension refit in 2018.

"The hull remains the same but the machinery, weapons and the radar systems were upgraded so that we could keep the ship updated," the British Naval officer said.

The ship has weapons systems for various spectrums including small and close range weapons, surface to surface missiles, surface to air missiles, torpedoes, 4.5 inch gun among others.