A Royal Navy warship, HMS Duncan, has deployed on a mission to protect international trade routes in the Middle East.

The vessel set off from Portsmouth on Sunday and headed towards the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

It will replace HMS Diamond, which has been protecting the region since before Christmas and which in April shot down a missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.

The Royal Navy said 200 men and women have worked to make HMS Duncan ready to deploy.

Commanding Officer, Cdr Dan Lee, said: “I am immensely proud of the work the ship’s company have done to ready HMS Duncan for this important deployment.”

He said the Type 45 destroyer will be ready to work around the clock to “protect trade routes from Houthi attacks”.

“We have spent the past week readying the ship and saying our farewells to our families and loved ones who turned out to wave us off from Round Tower in Portsmouth.”

Cdr Lee added: “Our people will succeed on operations and support stability where tasked.”

The Duncan spent five months leading a NATO task group in the Mediterranean Sea last year.

It has more than 60 new members of the crew for the latest deployment.

Among them is Able Rating 18-year-old Charles Henderson, a seaman on his first ship and first deployment.

He said: “I am immensely excited to be deploying but I’m highly focused on the operations ahead and ready to put all my training into practice.”

The ship will now carry out training in the Mediterranean before it sails through the Suez Canal towards the Red Sea and the coast of Yemen.