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RFA Cardigan Bay returns to UK after Gaza humanitarian mission
10 September 2024
Royal Fleet Auxiliary amphibious support ship Cardigan Bay has returned to the UK after delivering humanitarian supplies to Gaza.
The ship deployed to the Middle East more than two years ago to work alongside Royal Navy minehunters in the protection of key shipping lanes.
But in April this year, she was re-tasked to the Mediterranean to assist in delivering lifesaving, medical, nutritional, sanitation and water supplies to Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
RFA Cardigan Bay was welcomed home to Portland over the weekend by Rear Admiral Jude Terry, Royal Navy’s Director People and Training and the newly appointed RFA Head of Service Commodore Sam Shattock.
Captain (X) Mark Colley, Commanding Officer of Cardigan Bay, said: “On each of my three appointments to RFA Cardigan Bay I have been impressed by the flexibility and adaptability of the ship and more importantly her people.
“The can-do attitude of the ships company never ceases to amaze me, even when faced with the prospect of drone and missile attacks in the Bab Al Mendeb Straits, everyone demonstrated professionalism and resolve knowing that we were making a difference.
“Myself and all those that have served in Cardigan Bay over the past two years are hugely proud of what the ship has delivered on the international stage.”
The can-do attitude of the ships company never ceases to amaze me
RFA Cardigan Bay has been replaced by sister-ship RFA Mounts Bay, whose presence in the Eastern Mediterranean will continue to provide options for contingency planning against a range of possible scenarios.
While in the Mediterranean, Cardigan Bay joined international efforts of the construction of a US temporary floating pier, providing accommodation for hundreds of US sailors and soldiers working on it. Almost 11,000 tonnes of aid were transferred through this maritime aid corridor, across the pier to the World Food Programme for onwards distribution to the people of Gaza.
The ship’s work demonstrated the flexibility of the RFA and her crew, switching seamlessly between mine-hunting support duties and national tasking.
Departing from her Middle Eastern home of Bahrain in late March, she headed for the Eastern Mediterranean via the Bab Al Mendeb Strait and Suez Canal to undertake the four-month humanitarian mission.