Although residents in the Virgin Islands and elsewhere in the region are used to seeing large United Kingdom ships every summer, the RFA Lyme Bay, which was in the territory from Monday until yesterday, brings more personnel and more emergency response capabilities than the Caribbean has ever seen aboard any other ship, said Captain Paul Minter.
“We’re able to take [1,500] people on board for short periods in the event of an evacuation,” Mr. Minter said. “We have vehicles on board that we can put onshore, and manpower with a variety of skill sets. … I don’t think we’ve ever been able to provide all that before.”
The captain, who spoke to reporters aboard the ship Tuesday, said that the goals for the ship staff at the moment are to visit overseas territories and get acquainted with the people and systems they might be working with in case of a natural disaster.
On Monday, three members of the ship’s crew and the ship’s Lynx Mk8 helicopter joined a search-and-rescue drill on Anegada.
See the July 30, 2015 edition for full coverage.
{fcomment}