How a depleted Royal Navy has managed to bring relief in the wake of Hurricane Irma
SIR – The initial British aid effort in the wake of Hurricane Irma has been described as pathetic, disgraceful and lacking in vision, compared to those of the French and the Dutch (report, September 9). This is arrant nonsense.
The British have no military bases in the Caribbean, while the French have a 1,000-man garrison on Martinique, and the Dutch have a permanent naval base on Curaçao.
The French and the Dutch between them had but two islands to worry about, separated by 22 miles. The British had four Overseas Territories, a total of 25 inhabited islands from Montserrat to the Turks and Caicos, some 750 miles apart.
It was not until September 3-4 that the likely path of the hurricane was known. It made landfall at 2am on Wednesday September 6. The first ship to reach the area – a Dutch patrol vessel – arrived on Thursday afternoon. It was followed by a small Dutch logistics vessel, of limited utility, late that evening.
About 10 hours later, early on Friday morning, the British RFA Mounts Bay reached Anguilla. Three times the size of the Dutch ship, it landed engineers, supplies and heavy plant (something neither the French nor Dutch had managed), and within hours they had cleared the airport runway, fixed the roof and the power of the hospital, and stopped a dangerous fuel leak at the main petrol dump.
They then set off for the British Virgin Islands, six hours away, reaching them the same day. Also on Friday, three transport aircraft, with personnel and supplies, left Britain. Nick Downie
Mahikeng, South Africa
SIR – You report that senior MPS had found Britain’s response to Hurricane Irma “wanting” and felt it was “in need of improvement”. These assessments deserve scrutiny.
In 1998 I was the first captain of HMS Ocean, not yet commissioned but in the Virgin Islands conducting hot-weather trials. To test the ship’s systems fully we had embarked a full Air Group of 18 helicopters and a Royal Marine Commando force. When Hurricane Mitch devastated Nicaragua and Honduras we were dispatched to provide humanitarian relief.
Being only three days away, we were on station quickly. Nearing the Mosquito Coast, we picked up more than 30 fishermen whose craft were smashed and were drifting out to sea.
Importantly, we had the helicopters to conduct swift reconnaissance up to 80 miles inland. So on arrival we could accurately direct aid and our superb Royal Marine Commando force to where it was needed. We sustained a round-the-clock operation for nearly three weeks, coordinated a multinational task force and ultimately handed over to non-governmental organisations and aid agencies that arrived later. In summary, it was the right ship, with the right load, in the right place, at the right time.
With Hurricane Irma, we had one RFA vessel with one helicopter embarked in the region. I am sure they are doing a great job. However, these ships are not manned to levels to allow many of their crew ashore.
We were delighted on Saturday to know that HMS Ocean was on her way from the Mediterranean. But of course that leaves a gap in our presence in the Med at a time of high volatility.
My point is that, with a stretched Royal Navy, you must accept the risk of units not being in the optimal place all the time. We used to have a frigate permanently on station in the West Indies to meet national requirements, including defence, relief and counter-narcotics operations.
It is ironic that HMS Ocean is returning to the place where her operations began in 1998. She is due to be paid off early next year. She leaves a gap in the inventory of our fleet.
Thank goodness we have the carriers Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales coming into service. I’d wager that, like HMS Ocean, at least one of the aircraft carriers will be deployed ahead of their planned time.
Captain RM Turner RN (retd) Weymouth, Dorset