The Tribune

THE Royal Navy’s HMS Medway is visiting The Bahamas ahead of the 2022 hurricane season.

HMS Medway is the Royal Navy’s permanent presence in the Caribbean region. The commanding officer of HMS Medway, Chris Hollingworth, and his crew are visiting Nassau until tomorrow in preparation for hurricane season 2022. The visit began on January 25.

HMS Medway is a river-class offshore patrol vessel and has been in the region since the beginning of 2020. In addition to providing support to Britain’s overseas territories in the region (such as Cayman and the Turks and Caicos Islands), HMS Medway provides support and humanitarian aid in the event of a hurricane or other natural disaster and works side-by-side with regional law enforcement, helping to stop the flow of illegal drugs from South America to Europe and North America.

During HMS Medway’s visit, Commander Chris Hollingworth will meet with Royal Bahamas Defence Force Commodore Raymond King and his team. He will pay an operational visit to the National Emergency Management Agency and discuss planning with Captain Stephen Russell.

He will also have a courtesy call with Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and is planning to hold operational discussions with the Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe and Minister of State Myles LaRoda.

As this is the Platinum Jubilee year, marking the 70th anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen’s reign, the commander had the honour of planting two Lignum Vitae trees with the British High Commissioner and the Bahamas National Trust.