BRITISH WARSHIP VISITS BVI
The British Frigate HMS Sheffield left here Monday after conducting a
weekend port visit that began last Friday.
Having left her homeport of Plymouth in the United Kingdom in a chilly
early February, she is conducting a 6-month tour of duty in the
Caribbean and visited Tortola to renew the friendship between the ship
and the local people, which was established during her last
visit in December 1998.
The visit allowed the crew to play a number of sporting fixtures against
local teams, as well as to enjoy some shore leave and visit the
island. HMS Sheffield also provided a platoon of sailors as part of the
Queen’s Birthday Parade on Saturday 9th.
Sheffield is under the command of Commander Simon Williams. While here,
he paid courtesy calls on His Excellency Governor
Frank Savage, Chief Minister the Honourable Ralph O’Neal and Commissioner
of Police Mr. Vernon Malone.
“During our time in the Caribbean, we are held contingent readiness
for any disaster relief that may be required and I guess that these
days range from problems with volcanic eruptions to earthquakes to indeed
the hurricanes, as we come into the hurricane season,”
said Commander Williams.
HMS Sheffield is a Type 22 Frigate that can reach a top speed of 30 knots.
She was built in 1986, joined the British Fleet in 1988
and is the 3rd ship to bear the name, the previous Sheffield having been
sunk in the Falklands war in 1982.
A mainstay of the modern Royal Navy surface fleet, she is equipped for
attacking and defending herself against targets below, on, or
above the sea surface. Programmed to be away from the UK for 6 months,
visits are scheduled to various other islands, including
Jamaica, Anguilla and Bermuda before returning home in August. Commander
Williams told reporters here that the ship is loaded with a lot of extra
stores and disaster relief stores and is very well able to cope with any
problem as it relates to disasters.
He also said the ship also helps with the military tasks in the area
of counter-drug operations. “Once we are at sea, we are assisting
local Coast Guards such as yours, and indeed the U.S Coast Guard, in the
fight against counter narcotics.”
In addition, the Sheffield is active in what is called defence diplomacy.
Commander Williams said the Navy has been doing this for
years. He said this is actually swapping information and anything they
can do to help local Coast Guards and whatever the local Coast
Guards can provide in terms of a brief of the tactical situation of where
the likely drug smugglers are etc.
Far from being purely on a Caribbean cruise, Sheffield has a well defined
operational role to fulfil and will be patrolling the area
assisting with counter drug operations as well as conducting exercises
with the US Coast Guard and the French, Dutch and
Venezuelan navies.
The ship’s tour began in Key West, Florida, went to the commissioning
of the USS Winston S. Churchill in Norfolk, Virginia and
since then, has visited Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Antigua, St Lucia and Barbados.
The complement of the ship is 270 officers, including 42 females, five
Officers and 1 Petty Officer. It is divided into four main departments
- Operations, Supply and Secretariat, Weapon Engineering and Marine Engineering.
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