Royal Navy ship rescues stranded fishermen
HMS PORTLAND in rescue in the Caribbean


A Royal Navy warship has rescued two fishermen who had been stranded on their broken down vessel for more than twenty-four hours and had run out of food and water in the Caribbean.

Devonport-based HMS Portland was on a routine anti narcotics patrol around St Lucia when an eagle-eyed quartermaster spotted the stricken vessel, the Shadrach, which was too small to show up on the radar, and a sea boat was launched to investigate.

When the Royal Navy boat party arrived they discovered the boat’s engine was broken and the crew had no means of communication. Food and water was quickly distributed and the fishermen were given a medical check up before the Shadrach was towed back towards St Lucia to be handed over to the local coastguard.

The quartermaster, Leading Seaman Darren Stedman, 33, said: “The crew were waving frantically and appeared very distressed, who knows what would have happened if we hadn’t seen them.”

HMS Portland is one of the Royal Navy’s Duke Class Type 23 frigates. She is currently on deployment in the Caribbean to provide support and reassurance to the UK’s overseas territories as well as being ready to conduct humanitarian disaster relief, as she will be patrolling the region during the hurricane season. The ship is also available for counter-drugs operations, reducing the illegal supply of narcotics into the United Kingdom and Europe and working closely with the United States Coast Guard.