 The ship had a close association with the town of Atherstone, Warwickshire, and was latterly part of the 2nd Mine Countermeasure (MCM) Squadron based at Portsmouth, England.In December 2015, "Atherstone" returned from the Persian Gulf after a two-year deployment as part of Operation Telic in the Middle East, in support of coalition operations to promote and maintain peace in the Persian Gulf.She helped to provide assurance to merchant shipping, by conducting mine-countermeasure surveys in the main shipping routes throughout the region.