Royal Navy ship to deploy to Haiti loaded with aid
UNITED KINGDOM - 20 JANUARY 2010
The UK will send a Royal Fleet Auxiliary supply ship loaded with aid to help with the relief operation in Haiti, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander has announced today, Wednesday 20 January 2010.
The ship, RFA Largs Bay, is being despatched at the request of the United Nations and will sail from the UK carrying relief supplies that will be needed by the people of Haiti in the weeks and months ahead.
The ship will have the capacity to carry supplies provided by the Department for International Development (DFID) and British and international NGOs (non-governmental organisations), as well as goods purchased with donations from the British public in response to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.
The ship, which is due to sail before the end of the month from Marchwood, Southampton, is expected to stay in the region for some weeks to help the UN ferry bulk supplies around small outlying ports in Haiti.
The UK Government has already promised £20m to help those affected by the earthquake.
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said:
"I am proud that the Royal Navy will be contributing to the vital relief effort in Haiti in the critical phase after the initial recovery operation - when new supplies will be needed. Royal Fleet Auxiliary Largs Bay will sail for Haiti from Southampton carrying supplies and equipment which will help support the survivors of this devastating event.
"Now that the main part of the search and rescue phase is ending, the world's focus must turn to helping those people who have survived but have been left with nothing. The Royal Navy will play a vital role in meeting their needs."
International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said:
"This ship will provide a lifeline of essential supplies to keep Haiti running. The focus until now has rightly been on the immediate task of trying to save lives but we must also plan for the future.
"Hundreds of thousands of people, many of them desperately poor to begin with, have been left with nothing. It will take many months for them to rebuild their lives and the international community stands ready to help.
"I am proud that the Royal Navy has been able to mobilise so quickly to ferry vital supplies to the scene of one of the worst natural disasters in living memory. Their role will be appreciated not just by me but by the suffering people of Haiti."
Largs Bay has broad versatility and will be able to undertake a range of tasks from transporting stores to providing a sea base for UK personnel employed in the humanitarian relief effort.
It is equipped with a Mexeflote raft - a powered raft that can be used to offload ships at anchor and bring stock and equipment into shore when there is no established port.
Largs Bay has a crew of around 40 merchant seaman and about 10 personnel from 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, to operate the Mexefloat raft.
We expect RFA Largs Bay to arrive in Haiti in about three weeks time; this allows time for the loading of DFID and NGO stores onto the ship and then for it to sail to the region.
A 12-man Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team will also deploy to Haiti tonight to assess what further military specialist requirements are needed.
An Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team (OLRT) is a military capability held at extremely high readiness to deploy. It is used to link into and liaise with those already deployed on the ground and to provide a military view of what else might be required to inform the development of options for further consideration.
The OLRT will deploy by a C-130 Hercules aircraft with two Land Rovers and stores for 30 days.
In addition, the Minister for the Armed Forces has approved the deployment of three Army personnel on exchange with the US, Canada and Bermuda, two Royal Navy personnel on exchange with USS Gunston Hall, and two RAF C-130 pilots on exchange with the US Air Force.
An eight-strong Royal Military Police (RMP) protection team will arrive in Haiti on 21 January to provide better security for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Consular Rapid Deployment Team. The presence of an RMP team will allow our team better access for locating missing British nationals.
DFID has also announced it will allocate Oxfam with £1m, Action Against Hunger with £1m, and Handicap International with £500,000.
These allocations come from the £20m already pledged by the UK Government.
DFID will also pledge help towards rebuilding Haiti's Government. A team of civilian experts from the UK will help restore vital government functions, including rebuilding key government ministries, as part of the effort to ensure law and order is restored in the country, and improve infrastructure.
This support from the UK Government will mean extra communications, office equipment, logistics and other vital equipment.
Photo: U.K. Royal Navy RFA Largs Bay. Length: 176.6 m
Source: U.K. Ministry Of Defence
UNITED KINGDOM - 20 JANUARY 2010
The UK will send a Royal Fleet Auxiliary supply ship loaded with aid to help with the relief operation in Haiti, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander has announced today, Wednesday 20 January 2010.
The ship, RFA Largs Bay, is being despatched at the request of the United Nations and will sail from the UK carrying relief supplies that will be needed by the people of Haiti in the weeks and months ahead.
The ship will have the capacity to carry supplies provided by the Department for International Development (DFID) and British and international NGOs (non-governmental organisations), as well as goods purchased with donations from the British public in response to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.
The ship, which is due to sail before the end of the month from Marchwood, Southampton, is expected to stay in the region for some weeks to help the UN ferry bulk supplies around small outlying ports in Haiti.
The UK Government has already promised £20m to help those affected by the earthquake.
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said:
"I am proud that the Royal Navy will be contributing to the vital relief effort in Haiti in the critical phase after the initial recovery operation - when new supplies will be needed. Royal Fleet Auxiliary Largs Bay will sail for Haiti from Southampton carrying supplies and equipment which will help support the survivors of this devastating event.
"Now that the main part of the search and rescue phase is ending, the world's focus must turn to helping those people who have survived but have been left with nothing. The Royal Navy will play a vital role in meeting their needs."
International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said:
"This ship will provide a lifeline of essential supplies to keep Haiti running. The focus until now has rightly been on the immediate task of trying to save lives but we must also plan for the future.
"Hundreds of thousands of people, many of them desperately poor to begin with, have been left with nothing. It will take many months for them to rebuild their lives and the international community stands ready to help.
"I am proud that the Royal Navy has been able to mobilise so quickly to ferry vital supplies to the scene of one of the worst natural disasters in living memory. Their role will be appreciated not just by me but by the suffering people of Haiti."
Largs Bay has broad versatility and will be able to undertake a range of tasks from transporting stores to providing a sea base for UK personnel employed in the humanitarian relief effort.
It is equipped with a Mexeflote raft - a powered raft that can be used to offload ships at anchor and bring stock and equipment into shore when there is no established port.
Largs Bay has a crew of around 40 merchant seaman and about 10 personnel from 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, to operate the Mexefloat raft.
We expect RFA Largs Bay to arrive in Haiti in about three weeks time; this allows time for the loading of DFID and NGO stores onto the ship and then for it to sail to the region.
A 12-man Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team will also deploy to Haiti tonight to assess what further military specialist requirements are needed.
An Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team (OLRT) is a military capability held at extremely high readiness to deploy. It is used to link into and liaise with those already deployed on the ground and to provide a military view of what else might be required to inform the development of options for further consideration.
The OLRT will deploy by a C-130 Hercules aircraft with two Land Rovers and stores for 30 days.
In addition, the Minister for the Armed Forces has approved the deployment of three Army personnel on exchange with the US, Canada and Bermuda, two Royal Navy personnel on exchange with USS Gunston Hall, and two RAF C-130 pilots on exchange with the US Air Force.
An eight-strong Royal Military Police (RMP) protection team will arrive in Haiti on 21 January to provide better security for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Consular Rapid Deployment Team. The presence of an RMP team will allow our team better access for locating missing British nationals.
DFID has also announced it will allocate Oxfam with £1m, Action Against Hunger with £1m, and Handicap International with £500,000.
These allocations come from the £20m already pledged by the UK Government.
DFID will also pledge help towards rebuilding Haiti's Government. A team of civilian experts from the UK will help restore vital government functions, including rebuilding key government ministries, as part of the effort to ensure law and order is restored in the country, and improve infrastructure.
This support from the UK Government will mean extra communications, office equipment, logistics and other vital equipment.
Photo: U.K. Royal Navy RFA Largs Bay. Length: 176.6 m
Source: U.K. Ministry Of Defence
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