The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A ROYAL Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) vessel will be redeployed to patrol offshore areas near Haiti early this week after returning to The Bahamas for repairs due to defects encountered during its mission, Commodore Raymond King said yesterday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s annual church service, Commodore King said: “We look forward to getting her back into her area of operation. She will complete a six-week tour to be replaced by HMBS now so on, the rotation will continue.”

The vessel, which was initially deployed in late December, returned for maintenance yesterday after encountering challenges.

While Commodore King declined to specify details regarding reports of air conditioning and plumbing issues, he said: “Suffice to say that HMBS Lawrence Major would have arrived in Great Inagua this (Sunday) morning, with all of the spares that we need to get those systems operational and to get that vessel out to sea.”

He also acknowledged the ageing fleet’s challenges, noting that the 60-metre vessels, acquired in 1998, have surpassed their prime operational lifespan.

“And so, these breakdowns and these corrective maintenance periods will increase as a vessel continue to age, but we continue to do our best keeping those platforms operations with the hopes of getting replacement vessels in the future,” he said.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe previously told The Tribune that the HMBS Bahamas and HMBS Nassau would each carry a crew of about 60, with crews rotating during missions to ensure sustained patrols.

Their deployment came six defence force officers were deployed to Haiti in October as part of an advance team for the mission.

Yesterday, Commodore King said he has been in constant contact with the group, which has been advised to move in pairs and maintain their security posture.

“There are no concerns,” he said. “We have responded, but I look forward to getting 60-meter craft back into our area of operation as quickly as possible.”

The government has committed 150 officers to the multinational effort to address Haiti’s ongoing instability and gang-related issues.

Kenya is leading the mission but has struggled to rebuff the gangs, fueling concerns about increased illegal migration activity.

Yesterday, Commodore Raymond King warned that the RBDF is anticipating an uptick in illegal migration to The Bahamas due to expected policy changes in the US.

He said there were few migrant interceptions and detections by defence force officers last year, attributing the decline in migration flows to key policies implemented by the Biden administration in the United States.

However, he cautioned that these policies are expected to be rescinded by the incoming Trump administration, which could lead to an increase in migrant activity.

“We are vigilant. We are poised because we anticipate some increase in migration back towards The Bahamas generally.”