British warship makes first visit to Ream Naval Base

British patrol ship HMS Tamar has become the first Royal Navy warship to visit Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, conducting joint training with Cambodian personnel during a week-long visit to the country.

The Royal Navy said the visit was HMS Tamar‘s first to Cambodia and the third call by a British warship to the country in three years, continuing engagement previously undertaken by sister ship HMS Spey.

Tamar spent the week in Sihanoukville, around 130 miles southwest of Phnom Penh, with activities including military training, meetings with Cambodian naval leaders and engagement with local organisations.

The ship was escorted into Ream Naval Base by two Cambodian patrol craft before being met by a guard of honour on the jetty. Commander Tom Lindsey, Commanding Officer of HMS Tamar, subsequently held discussions with Royal Cambodian Navy representatives covering current and potential future cooperation between the two services.

The visit follows a period of renewed Royal Navy engagement with Cambodia after an absence lasting more than six decades. Lindsey said in the Royal Navy release: “My ship’s company pulled out all the stops in welcoming key leaders from Cambodia’s Royal Navy, government officials, local school children and families.”

He added: “In doing so we showcased what Britain can offer and allowed us to message the importance of prosperity in this region to the UK’s own security and prosperity, enabled through maritime trade. Our respect for sovereignty and the rules-based system, which supports peaceful resolution through dialogue, is part of our national character and is a key part of our mission here in the Indo-Pacific.”

Cambodian sailors joined their British counterparts aboard Tamar for medical and damage-control training, including trauma care at sea and procedures for responding to flooding aboard a vessel.

The patrol ship also hosted a reception attended by government officials, military representatives, diplomats, business figures and regional leaders.

Lindsey said: “This visit was a great opportunity for my ship’s company to undertake defence engagement in a manner close to their hearts: through sports, including football and volleyball games alongside the Royal Cambodian Navy, with a celebratory barbecue afterwards, and through community outreach supporting a local children’s charity.”

He described the call at Ream as particularly notable for the ship, adding: “It has been a privilege to bring Tamar to Cambodia for the first time – and for it to be the Royal Navy’s first visit to Ream Naval Base makes it doubly special.”

The Royal Cambodian Navy operates a fleet of around 20 vessels, according to the Royal Navy, consisting mainly of patrol craft and landing vessels alongside the corvette Koh Kong Senchey.

Its roles include coastal security, counter-smuggling, counter-narcotics work, action against people trafficking and piracy, and search and rescue operations supporting fishermen. Members of Tamar‘s ship’s company also visited the M’lop Tapang organisation in Sihanoukville, which provides shelter and other support for children and young people. Sailors carried out maintenance and painting work at the organisation’s facilities.

Leading Medical Assistant Stanex said in the release: “A personal highlight for me was going to the children’s charity centre to paint the recreation area because we got to help those who had nothing and see the joy in the kids’ faces as we worked together to brighten up the area.”

HMS Tamar is one of the Royal Navy’s Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels and has been deployed to the Indo-Pacific alongside HMS Spey on a long-term basis.

The two ships undertake maritime security cooperation, defence engagement, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief activity, and work intended to counter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing across the region. The Cambodian visit concluded with further engagement between the two navies, including football and volleyball matches followed by a joint barbecue, before Tamar continued its wider Indo-Pacific deployment.