PORT EVERGLADES, Florida — Bahamas Consul General to Miami Linda Mackey expressed her thanks to the crew of RFA Mounts Bay on behalf of Prime Minister the Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis during a visit to the British ship on Friday, September 13, at Port Everglades, Florida.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary RFA Mounts Bay started delivering essential aid to people in the northern Bahamas shortly after Abaco and Grand Bahama were devastated by the high winds and storm surge of Hurricane Dorian, according to a September 6 article in The Maritime Executive.
The amphibious support vessel provided support to Great Abaco Island, delivering shelter kits, water and other basic items. A RIB boat was deployed from Mounts Bay with a disaster relief team to join up with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to unload aid to those worst hit by Hurricane Dorian.
“RFA Mounts Bay has been working alongside the Bahamian National Emergency and Management Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard, using our Wildcat helicopter to conduct initial assessments on Abaco Island, and we have landed reconnaissance troops ashore,” said Captain Rob Anders, the vessel’s commanding officer. “We hope that our presence in the area in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Dorian will provide some peace of mind and reassurance to all those affected.”
The RFA Mounts Bay crew also delivered shelter kits, ration packs and water as well as airlifted relief to outlying, cut off communities in liaison with the Royal Bahamian Defence Force. Mounts Bay also brought ashore her heavy plant equipment, including all-terrain quads, dump trucks, and digging machinery.
“The ship’s specialized crew and equipment make her best placed to open the port and clear the airport runway so more international aid, including relief arriving from the United States, can reach the island,” the Maritime Executive article noted.
The article added, “RFA Mounts Bay’s Royal Navy helicopter crew also rescued three children and a British citizen who was trapped beneath rubble for several days after Hurricane Dorian struck The Bahamas. The Wildcat helicopter was flying over Great Abaco Island to assess damage when its crew were asked to evacuate a victim from Elbow Cay. The survivor was removed from the rubble and brought back to RFA Mounts Bay to be treated by the team of Royal Navy medics on board, then airlifted to Nassau. The Wildcat also evacuated a woman, her two children and a baby to Nassau.”
“The children were in a poorly condition and required immediate medical care. It was hugely rewarding to use my training and skills to provide essential and immediate life-saving care to this family,” said medical officer Surgeon Lieutenant Rebecca Miles.
The article stated: “As in previous years, RFA Mounts Bay was on stand-by in the Caribbean in preparation for hurricane season. As well as the disaster relief team, the ship is carrying aid supplies, all-terrain quads, dump trucks, digging machinery and stores on board. Since Hurricane Dorian hit, a liaison officer from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and a UK Department for International Development humanitarian expert have been on board to help co-ordinate the relief efforts.”
