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British
military assistance to relief operations following the tsunami
in the Indian Ocean is being provided under the name of Operation
Garron
Latest
news in summary - updated 22 January at 2000
The oceanographic
survey ship HMS Scott has been tasked, with the agreement
of the Indonesian Government, to begin an immediate survey
of the seabed at the epicentre of the earthquake. The water
depths reach 5000m, requiring Scott's specialist capability
for study, and the area needing to be examined is measured
in tens of thousands of square miles. The urgency of the task
is to gather scientific data before sediment disguises the
changes to the seabed's structure. The hydrographers serving
in Scott are being reinforced by a team of civilian scientists
for the task, which it is hoped will increase our understanding
of the disaster's mechanics and help inform efforts to warn
of future such events. Royal Fleet Auxiliary Diligence
and HMS Chatham have completed their work in Sri
Lanka and are returning to their normal duties.
Royal
Air Force aircraft continue to deliver humanitarian aid and
support equipment to Indonesia. Hundreds of tonnes of equipment
and aid has now been flown into the disaster area by the RAF
C-17, Tristar and Hercules aircraft. A pair of Army Air Corps
Bell 212 helicopters, normally based in Brunei, are operational
in northern Sumatra. Despite their relatively small size,
they have moved some 12,000lbs of humanitarian aid, as well
as providing vital airmobility to aid workers.
Royal
Navy engineers from RFA Diligence continue to work
in the Maldives, repairing 28 generators to restore electrical
power.
Background
Following
the devastating tsunami that struck the coasts of southern
Asia on 26 December 2004, the Armed Forces are providing support
to the UK Government disaster relief efforts which are being
coordinated by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the
Department for International Development. The latest information
on the overall UK Government relief programme can be found
on the DFID
website.
Operational
Liaison and Reconnaissance Team personnel have been deployed
by the Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood to Sri Lanka,
Indonesia and Thailand, able to provide expert advice across
the full range of military assistance likely to be needed.
These are working very closely with the local authorities,
FCO and DFID officials, and other aid agencies to ensure that
UK military assistance is provided where it is most needed
and can be most effective.
The
frigate HMS Chatham and the repair ship Royal Fleet
Auxiliary Diligence were directed into the disaster
area. Chatham arrived off Colombo in Sri Lanka on 3
January, while Diligence embarked humanitarian stores
in Cochin, south-west India. The ships offer a broad range
of capabilities. Chatham has two Lynx helicopters ready
to provide much needed air mobility, as well as providing
an excellent communications platform. Diligence has
extensive workshops and the ability to provide emergency electrical
and fresh water supplies, as well as transport stores and
act as a mother-ship to small craft engaged on relief work
along the coastline. A twenty-strong Forward Support Unit
of Royal Navy engineers has flown out from Portsmouth Naval
Base to ensure Diligence's engineering capabilities
can be used to maximum effect.
Having
used her helicopters and ship's boats to survey the damage
along the southern coast of Sri Lanka, HMS Chatham
is now off the town of Batticaloa on the eastern coast, and
work parties have begun work ashore. The repair ship RFA Diligence
joined Chatham off Batticaloa on the morning of 7 January.
The ships have had work parties ashore, helping provide shelter
for those whose homes were destroyed. A Royal Navy team has
also worked to make wells safe to drink from again, clearing
debris from the shafts, pumping out salt water contamination
left behind by the tsunami, then testing the water rigorously
to ensure it is potable. Royal Navy personnel have also helped
repair and refloat fishing boats left damaged and stranded
on the shore by the tsunami, in some case two kilometres down
the coast from where they had been moored. By repairing the
boats, it is hoped that fishermen can once again begin helping
to provide food for the local population. HMS Chatham
has also provided significant assistance to the isolated community
of Kalladar. The Secretary of State for International Development,
Hilary Benn MP, visited Batticaloa and the RN teams on 8 January.
Engineers
from RFA Diligence have been flown to the Maldives
to help repair electrical generators and water desalination
plant. Father Charles Howard, the chaplain in Diligence,
rededicated a church largely destroyed by the tsunami - the
disaster struck during a service, and claimed the lives of
most of the congregation. RN personnel cleared the church
of rubble and Fr Charles rededicated the building at the request
of two survivors since their own minister is in hospital,
severely injured. The Forward Support Unit also helped clean
up St Theresa's school for girls.
Royal
Air Force air transport have also been heavily involved in
the international relief operation, especially C-17 heavy
airlifters delivering equipment, including stores donated
by Scandinavian partners, to allow the United Nations to establish
relief operations in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. As noted on the
United Nations Joint Logistic Centre's website, the RAF C-17s
have provided a unique capability during the initial phase
of the international airlift. An RAF Mobile Air Movements
team, originally deployed to the region specifically to support
the C-17s, is based at the airport at Banda Aceh, which is
so critical to the relief effort in the worst affected region
of Indonesia, to help Indonesian and Australian personnel
maximise the number of relief flights able to use the airfield.
Two military logistic planning experts have also been sent
from the UK to reinforce the World Food Programme coordination
team working in Jakarta.
Press
Notice from HMS Chatham (dated 5 Jan 2005)
Press
Notice from HMS Chatham (dated 6 Jan 2005)
Press
Notice from HMS Chatham (dated 7 Jan 2005)
Press
Notice from HMS Chatham (dated 8 Jan 2005)
Press
Notice from HMS Chatham (dated 10 Jan 2005)
Press
Notice from HMS Chatham (dated 14 Jan 2005)
Royal
Navy Camera Team's video footage:
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One of Chatham's Lynxes, the only means of
reaching the isolated community of Kalmadu
(Click
here for high resolution)
|
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Sailors and Royal Marines
from HMS Chatham at
work in Kalmadu
(Click
here for high resolution)
|
(Click
here for high resolution) |
Arduous clearance work
in Kalmadu
(Click
here for high resolution) |
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Part of the international
aid effort at Banda Aceh
(Click
here for high resolution)
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Devastation in Sumatra, seen
from a C-17 on final approach
to Banda Aceh airport
(Click
here for high resolution) |
An RAF C-17 heavy airlifter
makes another delivery
(Click
here for high resolution) |
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Temporary shelters amidst
the damaged houses
(Click
here for high resolution)
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Two Senior Rates toil at
the bottom of a well, clearing
the contamination to make
it a safe source of water
once more
(Click
here for high resolution) |
Girls help sort the badly damaged
books at St Theresa's School
(Click
here for high resolution) |
|
A Sri Lankan military helicopter
makes an aid delivery as Royal
Navy personnel help clear
up a damaged community
(Click
here for high resolution)
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One of Chatham's Lynxes on
a makeshift helicopter landing
site established on a badly
damaged causeway. RN personnel
are helping the Sri Lankan
authorities with its repair
(Click
here for high resolution) |
All that remains of the village of
Kalmadu, where the Royal
Navy are helping Dutch aid
workers provide tented shelter
(Click
here for high resolution) |
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A Royal Navy surgeon holds
a clinic at Kallar hospital
(Click
here for high resolution)
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An aviation officer from Chatham'
chats with some of the families
waiting to see the doctor. The Lynx
helicopters have been one of the only
means of delivering supplies to the
community
(Click
here for high resolution) |
In the hospital grounds, a Chief
Petty Officer pumps contamination
from a well
(Click
here for high resolution) |
|
Members of the Forward Support
Unit clear rubble from St Theresa's
Girls' School
(Click
here for high resolution)
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Diligence's chaplain rededicates
the remaining structure of Four
Square Church, largely destroyed
with most of its congregation when
the tsunami struck during a St
Stephen's Day service.
(Click
here for high resolution) |
Medical supplies delivered
by HMS Chatham are sorted
at Kalladar hospital
(Click
here for high resolution) |
|
The devastated community
of Kalladar, now receiving
assistance from Chatham
(Click
here for high resolution)
|
Royal Navy personnel help
scrub clean a ward at
Kalladar hospital
(Click
here for high resolution) |
One of Chatham's Lynxes
delivers humanitarian aid
to Kalladar
(Click
here for high resolution) |
|
Back to the water 1:
a fishing boat is heaved
upright by personnel
from RFA Diligence and
the Forward Support Unit
(Click
here for high resolution)
|
Back to the water 2:
local men help edge the
fishing boat down the beach
(Click
here for high resolution) |
Back to the water 3:
the boat is finally returned
to the sea, ready to allow
fishermen once more to feed
local people
(Click
here for high resolution) |
|
Sailors from the Forward Support
Unit strain with a lever
while manoeuvring a fishing
boat stranded on the shoreline
in preparation for repair and
reflotation
(Click
here for high resolution)
|
Royal Navy personnel at work
repairing a fishing vessel
(Click
here for high resolution) |
HMS Chatham's chaplain
presents the ship's crest to
the Mother Superior of St
Theresa's at the conclusion
of work by the frigate's crew
to make the convent safe
(Click
here for high resolution) |
|
Royal Navy personnel take
the lead in erecting tented
accommodation donated
by the Rotary Club of
Helston
(Click
here for high resolution)
|
Children at the tented camp
receive a drink of water
(Click
here for high resolution) |
The International Development
Secretary, Hilary Benn, hears
the harrowing tales of those
who survived the tsunami
at Batticaloa
(Click
here for high resolution) |
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A pump draws contaminated
water from a fresh-water well next
to a church in the Batticaloa region
(Click
here for high resolution)
|
One of HMS Chatham's sailors hard
at work clearing debris from the well-shaft
(Click
here for high resolution) |
The International Development
Secretary, Hilary Benn, is briefed
by the well clearance team
(Click
here for high resolution) |
|
Local people wait anxiously as a
Chief Petty Officer from HMS
Chatham test the water from the
well to ensure that it is potable
after the debris has been cleared
and salt water contamination
pumped away
(Click here
for high resolution)
|
A work party from HMS Chatham
clears the rubble of houses demolished
by the tsunami at Batticaloa.
Local
people, previously too traumatised
to start rebuilding their homes,
were soon inspired to join the effort
(Click here
for high resolution) |
A sailor at work clearing the
ground so that rebuilding can begin.
Work is also underway to restore
electrical power and decontaminate
the fresh water supplies, as well
as providing interim tented shelter
(Click here
for high resolution) |
|
HMS Chatham's surgeon and
a naval aviation officer
discuss with Sri Lankan Air Force
officers suitable helicopter
landing zones around Batticaloa
(Click here
for high resolution)
|
|
A Warrant Officer from Chatham's
reconnaissance party photographs
damage to the local fishing fleet.
One potential task for Royal Navy
assistance is to repair the boats
so that the fishermen can return
to sea and start providing food
once more
(Click here for
high resolution) |
A badly damaged causeway
at Batticaloa, seen from
one of Chatham's helicopters
(Click here for
high resolution) |
Tangalla village seen from a
Royal Navy helicopter reconnaissance
flight over Sri Lanka's damaged coasts
(Click here for
high resolution) |
On the ground at Tangalla - the
fishing village's destroyed
fuel compound
(Click here for
high resolution) |
Where one of the fuel tanks
was left by the force of
the tsunami
(Click here for
high resolution) |
The damage at Kurundi
in Sri Lanka, again surveyed
by HMS Chatham's helicopters
(Click here for
high resolution) |
A close-up of one of the buildings
in Kurundi, with boats left
stranded on a first-floor balcony
(Click here for
high resolution) |
A female RAF movements officer
plans another delivery flight from Royal Australian Air
Force Butterworth
(Click
here for high resolution) |
The C-17 and an RAF Tristar
at Penang, loading freight
for Banda Aceh
(Click here
for high resolution) |
United Nations vehicles disembark
from the C-17 at Banda Aceh to help
establish UN relief operations
(Click here for
high resolution) |
RAF Movements personnel
prepare the cargo shackles
on a C-17 in readiness for
loading with aid stores in Denmark
(Click here
for high resolution) |
Aid teams try to snatch some
rest among their vehicles during
the long flight east on the C-17
(Click here for high
resolution) |
Humanitarian stores are loaded
aboard an RAF C-17 heavy airlifter
at Penang airport, Malaysia, for
delivery to Banda Aceh in Indonesia
(Click here for
high resolution) |
A 22-tonne forklift truck is loaded
aboard an RAF C-17 aircraft
at RAF Brize Norton for delivery
to the United Nations in Banda Aceh
(Click here for
high resolution) |
The documentation on a
Land Rover donated by the
Department for International
Development, also part of the
C-17's cargo
(Click here for
high resolution) |
The vast cargo hold of the C-17,
filled with 60 tonnes of vehicles,
supplies and aid team personnel
destined for Indonesia
(Click here for high
resolution) |
Useful
Links
>
Foreign &
Commonwealth Office
>
Department
for International Development - tsunami relief
>
United Nations
Joint Logistics Centre
>
HMS
Chatham
>
RFA
Diligence
>
RAF Air Transport:
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