A Royal Navy sailor from Aberdeen has returned home from a successful mission in the Gulf.
Kristofer Ogg-Castaine, 26, a mine clearance diver, has spent the past eight months in the region on board HMS Shoreham, which returned to HM Naval Base Clyde at the weekend.
During the deployment, Kristofer’s diving skills were put to the test when the crew worked alongside international navies helping to keep vital sea lanes safe and conducting routine surveys.
The able seaman, whose parents Susan Ogg and Didier Castanie still live in the city, joined the Royal Navy in 2008 shortly after leaving Aberdeen Grammar School.
So far he has served with HMS Protector and HMS Daring, visiting places as far afield as Antarctica, Falklands, Chile, Uruguay, South Africa, USA and Bahrain.
He has spent the last year as part of the Faslane-based First Mine Counter Measures Squadron (MCM1) which operates seven Sandown Class mine hunters.
He said: “I flew to Bahrain with Crew 1 to join HMS Shoreham at the end of January this year.
“We patrolled the central Arabian Gulf and conducted various exercises alongside international partners such as France and the US.
“It goes without saying that I have missed my family a great deal.
“I’ve been away many times before, but normally to cooler parts of the world and certainly not for as long.
“What I have missed most about home, apart from my family, is the variety of weather we get back in Scotland.
“The heat, sand and distinct lack of rain in the Arabian Gulf has made me appreciate our aye driech weather very much.”