HMS Trent will deploy to the Cayman Islands to offer UK support following the devastation brought this week by Hurricane Beryl, according to a release from the Ministry of Defence.
HMS Trent, an Offshore Patrol Vessel, is scheduled to arrive in the Cayman Islands this weekend, where her crew will be ready to offer assistance with equipment and support to help communities affected by flooding and storm damage.
“The hurricane, which has previously been rated Category 5, could bring winds of more than 155mph and has already caused a large amount of destruction in the region this week. HMS Trent is crewed by more than 50 sailors and departed from Puerto Rico yesterday, carrying bottled water, basic emergency supplies, and equipment.
The ship has a Crisis Response Troop embarked, comprising members of 24 Commando Royal Engineers and their equipment, and further augmented with personnel to support planning, information operations, meteorological forecasting, and image capture.
Additional personnel include a team from 700X Naval Air Squadron who provide HMS Trent’s embarked PUMA Flight (Remote Piloted Air System), allowing them to conduct airborne reconnaissance and damage assessment in direct support of 24 Commando activity.”
In the news release, the Ministry of Defence say that a specialist Rapid Deployment Team has already travelled to the Eastern Caribbean to provide consular assistance to any affected British Nationals.
“The UK continues to work with the Caribbean’s crisis response organisation, CDEMA, to provide assistance for the worst affected islands, including St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. In previous years, members of the Armed Forces have deployed to the Caribbean under Operation Ventus to provide humanitarian assistance in the form of food and basic medical relief, as well as engineering to repair damaged homes and infrastructure, and creating flood and hurricane defences.”
Hurricane Beryl has been described as the earliest ever Category 5 storm to form in the Atlantic, with storms of this scale usually recorded later in the summer.
HMS Trent has been deployed to the Caribbean since the end of 2023.
Good news that there’s some aerial coverage and that’s much better than nothing. I’m sure the crew of Trent and the embarked Royal Marine engineers will be able to provide some help and support and I wish them well.
However this year’s help is the least the RN has provided for many years. No RFA support ship and no helicopter. In the past, a larger second ship has always been found, even if the RN had to send an ice breaker. Climate change means Atlantic hurricanes are likely to get worse not better.
I wonder why, normally there is a bay class free for this sort of stuff.
Escorts continue to go out of service but the bays can’t fill that role, so it can’t be the reason surely.
LRG N & S, plus a Bay stuck in the Gulf.
Some idiots decided to sell the 4th for small change.
HMAS Choules (ex-Largs Bay) last seen a couple of days ago exercising with HMS Tamar at the Tongan Fleet Review.
HMS Trent is not an Albion Class which we used to send with it’s Helos and heavy lifting equipment, landing craft and personnel. Just proves the state of our RN is in.. Two useless Aircraft Carriers now we are sending River class to the other side of the Atlantic and down to Australia, don’t get me wrong they are good ships but the don’t project power and resources..
When exactly did we send an Albion for disaster Relief?
An RFA, yes, Waves, Rivers, but an Albion?
A link, please.
I’d be most interested as missed it completely. I know an LPD did an Indian Ocean,Gulf stint once in lieu of an escort.
We’re not “sending” River OPVs to these places, they are already forward deployed to these regions as presence vessel and is what is available at short notice.
Jon’s ref to lack of helicopter is the main issue.
The Rivers are perfect for this kind of work with the exclusion of missing a helicopter, but they are far better than an Anti Submarine Frigate.
The new heavy lift drones if deployed could over come almost all the Rivers limitations in this regard though.
Yes, I’ve not heard anything else on those Drones?
We are still some way off if you mean the Malloy T-650s. BAE bought Malloy earlier this year and is working on improving the prototype T-600, which is what we saw drop the inert torpedo at REPMUS last year. They are increasing the payload weight closer to its theoretical maximum before moving on to the larger T-650. It doesn’t sound close. BAE are still calling it a concept vehicle. “Getting up to a drone which can carry 300kg requires a whole drivetrain development programme. Everything from the rotor backwards needs to be considered”“Such a product also must be easily manufactured… Read more »
Thanks. Yes, that’s the one I had in mind that I also assume Jim meant.
Schiebel’s S-300 will have the lift capability and the endurance should the RN go forward and purchase this system.
In fairness, they can embark Helicopters for short periods, a navalised Wildcat for lifting supplies for a week or so in a disaster relief mission shouldn’t be impossible?
Sorry we used to send a Albion class because of it of it’s versatility this was the perfect vessel for disaster relief…. That stopped then they started to send anything available even unsuitable vessels as River class whichare not suitable for disaster relief for a start it’s not big enough. I might be showing my age but the RN is not a global fleet now we no longer have the resources. We are sending River class to these areas which they are not a blue water ship in place of the larger vessels that we can’t spare, the River class… Read more »
Ouch. Made a bit of a wally of yourself there with that bristling defensiveness.
Still waiting for a link.
Google, Wikipedia? I don’t need any of those to discuss the UK military, thank you. I’m extremely confident I could talk you under the table on any branch of our military and the MoD.
So take your condescending crap and shove it.
And I’m still waiting for a link when eitger Albion or Bulwark deployed to the Caribbean on this task.
So you’re definitely know it all armchair General/Admiral.
Nope, never all. Which is why i keep asking for details on Albion, which you can not give. And you’re incapable of discussing finer details and keep throwing back me as some some of belittlement. Sign of a walt, and, you’re flapping. Shall we discuss the ORBAT of the RN, RAF, army? Or the installations of the MoD? Or the intelligence services? You’d be utterly clueless I’m quite confident in that. Stop hiding by trying to deflect on me, come and talk details. I think it shows, actually, that you can not And you certainly have a chip on your… Read more »
Well I wasn’t the one saying go and look at Wikipedia or Google, you condescending……
I’m quite sure the closest the LPD’s have got to this is Bull Point! Not to say they are not capable enough if required; albeit far from ideal.
Bulwark (I think) was doing migrant rescue off Libya for a turn which likely falls under the humanitarian banner although a very different tasking to what most consider typical HADR.
Last capital ship employed in this way must have been Ocean for Ruman in 2017 right? Far better suited.
But fully agree, we haven’t sent an LPD for hurricane season to my knowledge.
Keep up the good work DM.
I know, mate! I remembered the LPD doing the escort stint, created quite a moan at the time.
Unless they happened to work in the Royal Navy in the Caribbean, a know-it-all serviceman might know no more than a know-it-all civvy. You’ve described how a class with no hangars provided helicopters. You might be mistaken. We used to send escorts for Atlantic Patrol tasking (North), supported by Waves, Rovers, Leafs, Forts etc. Several ships a year, giving a continuous presence in the Caribbean. We also had a pretty much permanent presence for South Atlantic tasking too. Roll on the 2010s. APT(S) became intermittent, dying out (from memory) about 2017. Escorts became rarer in the North too, subbed by… Read more »