Busy Belize visit for HMS Mersey

The Royal Navy’s Caribbean patrol ship has just left Belize where the ship’s company worked alongside the country’s Coast Guard and Defence Force.

HMS Mersey spent a few days at anchor just off Belize City – gateway to the country’s unspoilt cays and mangrove forests as well as the world’s second biggest barrier reef.

It was a busy visit for the ship’s company some of whom took the time to visit the headquarters of the British Army Training and Support Unit Belize.

Mersey’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Richard Hewitt hosted the High Commissioner, His Excellency Peter Hughes and the Deputy High Commissioner, Grace Chun.

While representatives from the Belize Coast Guard and Belize Defence Force trained alongside Mersey’s team of specialists.

Gunnery Officer Lieutenant Will Dewing said: “Members of the Belize Coast Guard and Defence Force came onboard to find out more about how we work in the areas of seamanship, navigation and boarding operations.

"It was a great opportunity for us to share ideas and develop a better understanding of how the other nation operates.”

HMS Mersey, the youngest of the Royal Navy’s Offshore Patrol Vessels, left her home base of Portsmouth in January to start a deployment to the Caribbean where she is involved with safeguarding UK interests and counter-narcotics operations.