A multi-national fleet of warships comprising of ships from the UK, Spain and France anchored overnight in the bay on Monday evening during an inshore exercise.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliaries Fort George and Wave Ruler were accompanied by the Royal Navy ships HMS Cornwall, a Broadsword Class Type 22 frigate, HMS Liverpool, a Type 42 destroyer, HMS Iron Duke and HMS Marlborough both Type 23 frigates. The minehunter HMS Shoreham, one of 12 Sandown class ships designed for hunting and destroying mines and for operating in deep and exposed waters is working with the units along with her sister ship HMS Sandown.

The French Navy or Marine Nationale was represented by the destroyers Commandant Blaison and Primauguet. The 3,300 ton frigate Baleares a unit of the Armada Espanola (Spain) made up the tenth unit of the fleet.

During the Iraq war HMS Liverpool acted as protector and escort to the UK flagship HMS Ark Royal. Liverpool spent 77 days at sea in the Gulf and went close inshore to the Al Faw peninsula protecting the carrier with her Sea Dart missile system.

HMS Cornwall, the county's adopted warship recently finished a stint as flagship for the NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic (SNFL) when Captain Simon Charlier (Cornwall) handed over to Captain Bruce Williams (Campbeltown). HMS Cornwall was commissioned at Falmouth docks by the late Diana, Princess of Wales in 1988. The frigate is scheduled to make a four day visit to Falmouth in April.