NAVY NEWS, OCTOBER 2010
3
Early-morning wake-up call
South Atlantic. In a multi-national operation, the destroyer,
Enforcement Detachment (LEDet) from Cape Verde,
nab a suspect yacht transporting cocaine worth an estimated £40m towards Europe. Gloucester was less than a week into her seven-month deployment, still north of the Canary Islands and conducting training exercises while keeping an eye on passing traffic – standard procedure for allied warships these days. The request to assist in tracking
down and capturing a known drug-smuggling vessel sailing from South America came from the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). They were working on French and Italian intelligence while the co-ordinating body was the
Analysis and Operations Centre (Narcotics) or MAOC(N),
the Portuguese capital Lisbon. And at the sharp end,
based in
the arresting authorities were to be the Cape Verde LEDet, rushed to the scene by the Royal Navy.
surprised smugglers in the yacht Tortuga. Lt
Timmy Elliott, Flight call Maritime
carrying a Law to
HMS GLOUCESTER delivered an unwelcome early- morning wake-up call to a couple of drugs-runners in mid-ocean within days of her starting her deployment to the
● Advised by Ops Offi cer Lt Tom Rowley, Gloucester’s CO, Cdr David George, considers his options
Observer in the ship’s Lynx helicopter,
himself to the fact that the only shots he was going to take along his M3M .50-calibre machine-gun sight were with the high-definition evidence camera, snapped a pair of bleary faces. He said:
a Lynx sat on top of you is none too quiet.
later, with the Cape Verde team picked up along the way,
Fighting G delivered an early- morning wake-up
to Three days and 1,500 miles
the two
cabin, went back in, and then poked out again as if to check he wasn’t imagining things. “I guess it must have been one those really bad waking up
of mornings!”
The actual impoundment had to be conducted by the Cape
poked out from the “Then one head
took a while to wake up,
“They even though having reconciled
Verde LEDet, a team of five law enforcement and judiciary officials, but LS Nick Summers was their chauffeur, delivering them to the yacht in Gloucester’s seaboat. LS Summers said: “There was
just an edge because we weren’t sure if they [the yacht] had weapons – although if they had tried anything, with everything the ship had pointed at them, it might not have gone so well for them. “I was more worried about getting the boat alongside though. “It’s not so easy to get five people between two tiny boats in the oggin, especially if they’re not used to jumping across. “A couple of them weren’t too
keen – fair enough really.” A hitherto unsung part of the
operation was the 300-mile tow back to Mindelo, Cape Verde. Speed was imperative to allow a full search to be made and charges brought within the legal 48-hour deadline of the arrest – but yachts are not designed for towing. PO Lee Shaw, an experienced
yachtsman, was one of the not-so- lucky sailors involved. “Let’s just say that it didn’t smell any more pleasant by the end than it did at the beginning, and it wasn’t exactly at Captain’s rounds standards to start with,” said PO Shaw. “It wasn’t a boat I’d have chosen to cross the Atlantic in anyway – you might think drugs smugglers would have something a bit more flash.”
● HMS Gloucester’s seaboat circles the yacht as the destroyer stands by
The effort proved worthwhile when the yacht was finally lifted out of the water, and 30kg of raw cocaine was found stashed along the stern transmission near the rudder. The bust was an exciting start to a long deployment, and the
● HMS Gloucester’s Lynx inspects the target yacht
ship’s company enjoyed following the media attention.
Commanding Officer Cdr
David George said: “You’re on your way somewhere and you get diverted at a moment’s notice to go take down some bad guys, there’s some good PR, and then you’re back on your way as if nothing had happened. “That constant shifting-target
and variety is one of the things I love about being in the RN. “Fingers crossed, there’ll be some more for us. “The ocean is a vast place for
dubious types to hide in, and it’s a long way from people’s front rooms – but the drugs on UK streets aren’t.
“This is why the Royal Navy is out on the high seas, day in, day out.”
Gloucester is now back en route
to the Falklands to take over from HMS Portland as the Atlantic Patrol Task (South) ship. Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox
said: “This is another example of the great work the men and women of the Royal Navy carry out around the world which helps protect us at home. “The Royal Navy plays a crucial role in intercepting drugs that could be destined for Britain’s streets.I am very proud of their efforts.” A planned port visit in South
America by the destroyer has had to be cancelled at short notice.
A Royal Navy spokesman said:
“We can confirm that Uruguay withdrew diplomatic clearance for HMS Gloucester to visit Montevideo 15-17.
from September “The ship, which is currently
deployed in the South Atlantic, was scheduled to make a short, routine port visit. “We are obviously disappointed with this last-minute decision by Uruguay but respect their right to make it. “We have a long-standing close defence relationship with the Uruguayans; this incident will not affect those good links.” HMS Portland bids farewell to Falklands – pages 10-11
Rough ride north
ROUGHERS. Goffer. Shipping it green. A big sea, in layman’s terms – and always fun in a Type 42... The 42 in this
Manchester, and the roughers were the calling card of Hurricane Igor, a nasty little Category 3 storm (winds upwards of 130mph) which swept past Bermuda. The Busy Bee, in the
Caribbean on anti-drug- running and disaster relief duties,
had spent “a
couple of uncomfortable nights” dashing some 900 miles north to stand by as Igor passed directly over the British Overseas Territory. The Governor of Sir Richard
Bermuda,
Gozney, had requested that the destroyer was on hand so she could give assistance should Bermuda suffer major damage – in such circumstances the ship’s Lynx is of particular value, being able to conduct a rapid aerial survey. In the event Igor passed close to
● HMS Manchester crashes through heavy seas as she dashes north for Bermuda to stand by as Hurricane Igor approaches the island
the west of the Island in the small hours of the night, having weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with winds up to a ‘mere’ 95mph. HMS Manchester arrived off
case is HMS
Bermuda a few hours after Igor had passed and was able to launch her Lynx to survey the Island. “Having been tasked to stand
by Bermuda, it was important to get there as quickly as possible after Igor has passed through,” said Manchester’s Commanding Officer Cdr Rex Cox. “This involved a sporty fast
dash north, surfing in behind the hurricane eye so as to be in a position to conduct humanitarian and disaster relief as required. “Fortunately Bermuda suffered
only slight
damage and no casualties and Manchester can now return to the Caribbean Sea and position ready for the next severe weather
event.”
Manchester had been conducting counter-narcotic operations in the Caribbean Sea when the order was given to travel north.
She also had to cancel a planned visit to St Kitts which was part of their Independence Day celebrations. During the passage north from her operating areas in the Caribbean basin the ship encountered two days of heavy seas with seven-metre (25ft)
waves that had been whipped up by the hurricane. “It was excellent that Manchester
was able to send in her helicopter,” said Governor Gozney. “From this flight we were able to get the complete picture as to what had happened.
Before her dash north, Manchester had been helping local communities in the Caribbean, with plenty of sailors stepping forward to do their bit. Taking Barbados as an example,
Lt Penny Armand-Smith spent four days at a camp for disabled children, helping with supervision,
playing
games, singing and making costumes for the Camp Friendship carnival. And a dozen of Penny’s shipmates
volunteered to help paint the house of Mrs Elaine Hinkson, widow of a World War 2 veteran and a member of the Barbados Legion. Despite typical Caribbean weather – sunshine and heavy showers – they managed to achieve much more than planned.
Previously, on Grand Turk in the
Turks and Caicos chain, 13 sailors joined the local Rotary Club in clearing a park of rubbish and cutting back overgrown acacia trees, providing a more manageable open space for the islanders.
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