Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions the has had with the Royal Navy on the role of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in the humanitarian aid and disaster relief operation in the Caribbean in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.

There have been no discussions on the role of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in support of humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations in the Caribbean in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. The Ministry of Defence’s support to the region during the Hurricane season, Operation VENTUS, is, in the first instance, delivered through the presence of a Royal Navy ship with an embarked crisis response troop. HMS TRENT is currently serving this role and can provide an immediate response and, crucially, set the conditions for further recovery operations.

The Royal Navy, alongside FCDO colleagues, has delivered humanitarian aid and disaster relief in the Caribbean following Hurricane Melissa. This supported the deployment of Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Teams to Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands. HMS TRENT supported both locations with the ship’s crew and crisis response troop also deployed ashore in Falmouth, Jamaica to clear debris and conduct engineering repairs to restore critical infrastructure ahead of the arrival of other agencies.