Board and Search Training School

In recent years boarding operations have been focussed in the Caribbean and the Gulf where the Royal Navy’s patrols are aimed at stopping the illegal maritime trade of narcotics and piracy, which could feed terrorism and insurgency.

Each ship has a boarding team of 15, led by a junior officer,  assisted by a senior rating.

The team is made up of a cross-section of the ship's company who can use their own expertise in a particular area, such as the engine room, to cast an expert's eye and pick up any suspicious areas or activity.

To prepare ships' teams for this important role they undergo an intensive training package at the Board and Search School prior to deploying.

The training teaches the team how to board, secure and search the ship.

It covers a range of scenarios, testing the sailors' reaction to various situations including crew unrest.

Royal Navy personnel are primarily trained to carry out compliant boarding operations, where permissions have been granted for the team to come onboard.

However there is no such thing as a routine boarding, and the training at the Board and Search School also teaches teams what to do if the situation onboard escalates.

On operations Royal Navy teams sometimes work alongside Royal Marine boarding teams who are tasked with securing the vessel so that the RN team can carry out the search.