On Monday, September 24, Commanding Officer Mike Utley, Captain of the HMS Portland, spoke at a press conference at the Royal Anguilla Police Force Headquarters at 10:15 a.m. He was accompanied by Dan Harding, an officer in training, as it is common for such a person to be able to understand the role of a Captain in the Royal Navy.

Captain Utley and Commissioner Richardson

The ship was supposed be in Anguilla for three days during which time the crew would have had time to relax as well as get involved with many exercises to help improve Anguilla’s public services. Some members of the crew were also going to participate in a football and cricket match as well as a netball game. Yet, the ship and its crew had to leave unexpectedly on official duty of which they could not disclose. During the press conference, Captain Utley spoke in great detail about the HMS Portland’s role in the Caribbean as well as some of its past operations and trips before arriving to Anguilla.

The HMS Portland was deployed in June of this year and was initially launched in 2000 as the penultimate ship in its series. The captain mentioned that a great deal of training was conducted in preparation for this deployment. The long trip from Europe began with a Russian ship in transit with the Portland which was a historical evenat as this had not occurred since WW II. Both the Portland and the Russian vessel sailed to Norfolk, Virginia, where they took part in a large international exercise with France, Russia and the USA. Later on, they set sail for the Caribbean where their main directives are to support the overseas territories, provide security and most importantly to give disaster relief in the event of a hurricane. This goal became tangible when the Portland assisted with Hurricane Dean.

Their help began by sending the LINX helicopter to Grand Cayman to assist and assess the situation. Next, they sailed to Belize alongside the RFA Wave Ruler where they helped 29 villages recover from the devastating effects of Dean. During their efforts they cleared roads, distributed water, provided generators, opened a clinic, re-roofed 100 houses and provided reassurance to those people whose lives were turned upside down. Captain Utley said, “We provide the band aid. It is very important that people have that re-assurance that someone is there to help. We can’t rebuild countries but what we can do is help people.”

HE The Governor Mr Andrew George and Commanding Officer Captain Mike Utley

After their hurricane relief efforts subsided, they went to Barbados for regularly scheduled maintenance but were not able to complete that because of hurricane Felix. Upon returning to Barbados to complete maintenance, their next stop was St. Kitts in which members of the crew took part in the Independence Day celebrations. During their tenure in the Caribbean, since June, they have saved many lives and helped many vessels which lost their way. Moreover, a large part of what the Portland does is counter drug operations while cooperating with the U.S. Coast Guard as well as the French and Dutch Navy. Noel Johnson, ensign with the US Coast Guard and officer in charge for the law enforcement detachment, and his compatriot Javier Rojas, gave details on their mission. They mentioned that they had only been on board for two weeks and thus far have not been involved in any drug busts but were looking forward in the next month and half of their tour of duty on the HMS Portland, to getting involved in counter drug operations.

The HMS Portland is a general purpose frigate that has a range of 11,500 miles, a variety of weapons and a state of the art communications system. Some 184 persons comprise the crew of which twenty percent are female. As mentioned earlier, the frigate carries a LINX helicopter that plays a large role in counter drug operations as it flies around searching for questionable boats. Among its crew are two Royal Marine snipers capable of stopping boats who exhibit non compliance.

On board the ship, the Captain and crew hosted a cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m. on Monday in which HE The Governor Mr. Andrew George and Mrs. George as well as the Deputy Governor Mr. Stanley Reid and Mrs. Reid attended. Other members of Government and the police force also attended. Moreover, throughout the day on Monday, two sets of school children boarded the vessel and were given a tour. After leavingAnguilla, HMS Portland will be involved in counter drug operations for four weeks before heading to Antigua and St. Lucia where its tour to Caribbean culminates. After that the frigate will set sail for West Africa before heading back to the UK.

-Jason Allen

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