Cayman Islands get help from HMS Trent as Hurricane Beryl wreaks havoc
Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Trent is providing assistance to the Cayman Islands after Hurricane Beryl devastated many parts of the Caribbean.
Beryl was the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record to form in the Atlantic, leading the UK to increase its support up to £500,000 for Caribbean countries most affected by the destruction.
HMS Trent was deployed to the Cayman Islands to offer UK support.
HMS Trent is in the North Atlantic and Caribbean as part of the Royal Navy's permanent presence in the region to support the UK's Overseas Territories.
She typically works with the US Coast Guard and regional law enforcement agencies to counter illicit activities including drug trafficking to help prevent illegal substances from reaching the UK.
The offshore patrol vessel, which is crewed by more than 50 sailors, departed from Puerto Rico earlier this month carrying bottled water, basic emergency supplies and other equipment.
The ship travelled with a Crisis Response Troop embarked, comprising members of 24 Commando Royal Engineers and their equipment, further augmented with personnel to support planning, information operations, meteorological forecasting and image capture.
Additional personnel included a team from 700X Naval Air Squadron that provided 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.
A specialist rapid deployment team had already travelled to the eastern Caribbean to provide consular assistance to any affected British nationals.
Some members of the ship's company visited various departments of interest concerning HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) on the Cayman Islands.
The UK continues to work with Caribbean crisis response organisation CDEMA to assist the worst-affected islands, including St Vincent & 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 create flood and hurricane defences.
Beryl, an unusually fierce early-season hurricane, eventually weakened to a Category 3 storm before rolling through the Cayman Islands.
It had previously devastated Jamaica, hitting the country with winds of 150mph tearing apart buildings and uprooting trees.
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