With the Royal Navy HMS
Blyth was deployed to the
Middle East on
Operation Aintree by the
Royal Navy in 2007 and 2008, together with her
sister ship, , to test the class capabilities in the hot climate and maintain force operational capability in the region. Crews from other
Sandown-class vessels were rotated through the two ships.
Blyth was based at as one of four minehunters of
9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron supported by a
Royal Fleet Auxiliary on Operation Kipion until 2020, when she was replaced in theatre by . On 27 November 2020 the Royal Navy announced that the commanding officer of
Blyth had been awarded the
MBE for his leadership in Gulf peacekeeping efforts. On 10 February 2021, the Royal Navy announced that
Blyth was being re-deployed to link-up with the Dutch-led
NATO force operating in the North Sea.
Blyth (together with
Ramsey) was decommissioned in a joint ceremony at Rosyth on 4 August 2021. Following a refit by
Babcock both vessels were initially earmarked for the
Ukrainian Navy to "enjoy a fresh lease of life in the Black Sea". However, in October 2022 it was reported that plan had subsequently altered to transfer both ships to the
Romanian Navy instead. On 28 September 2023, the Royal Navy confirmed that
Sandown-class mine countermeasures vessels,
Blyth and HMS
Pembroke, had been sold to Romania, one of the UK's NATO allies, by the Defence Equipment Sales Authority (DESA), which disposes of vehicles and equipment no longer needed by UK Armed Forces.
With Romanian Navy Ex-
Blyth was officially taken over by the Romanian Navy during a ceremony that took place at
Rosyth on 27 September 2023. She was renamed
Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu, a name also carried by the World War II
gunboat , and received the pennant number M270. The crew of 40 sailors under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Denis Giubernea, continued training, evaluation, and certification activities until 15 November when the ship departed Rosyth for
Constanța.
Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu arrived in the
port of Constanța on 19 December 2023. She joined up with the 146th Mining-Demining Ships
Divizion. On 10 June 2025,
Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu transporting a team of
explosive ordnance disposal divers, began participating in the fifth activation of the Mine Counter-Measures Black Sea Task Group. Together with another three ships from
Bulgaria and
Turkey, she maintained maritime traffic safety, ensuring the
freedom of navigation. She also participated in the Eurasian Partnership Mine Counter Measure Dive 25 organized by the Romanian Navy between 14 and 22 June.
Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu returned to port on 27 June. ==References==