Following a 5-day port visit for vital replenishment conducted prior to entering the Black Sea, the HMS Defender departed Sarayburnu Port on June 14th and sailed through the Bosporus with the Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen to conduct maritime operations in the Black Sea demonstrating interoperability with their allies in the region. 

Following their Black Sea visit (Expected to last 20 days and accompanied by HNLMS Evertsen the HMS Defender [D36] Destroyer departed Black Sea and transited Bosphorus towards Mediterranean on July 2, 2021), the HMS Defender and the HNLMS Evertsen will re-join the rest of the Carrier Strike Group before they head through the Suez Canal. Travelling over 26,000 nautical miles (further than the distance around the world at the equator) the UK led CSG21 will visit more than 40 countries over the next 7 months from the Mediterranean to the Indo Pacific; including Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Japan and India. The CSG21 is made up of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, Type 45/Daring Class destroyers HMS Diamond and HMS Defender, Type 23 frigates HMS Kent and HMS Richmond, and Astute Class submarine, RFA Fort Victoria, RFA Tidespring, U.S.S. The Sullivans of the US Navy and HNLMS Evertsen of the Royal Netherlands Navy.