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Patrol ship HMS Medway mixes past and present on Caribbean patrol
14 March 2025
The Royal Navy’s permanent presence in the Caribbean showed present-day resolve and honoured the nation’s greatest naval hero on her latest patrol.
HMS Medway joined US and Dutch forces in the most recent iteration of a combined exercise committed to security of the wider Caribbean area.
Portsmouth-based HMS Medway joined Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy and Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Thomas Hudner from the US Navy, while the Netherlands patrol vessel HNLMS Gronigen, which provided a NH90 Neptune helicopter for the three-nation link-up.
The goal of the combined workout is simple: to ensure the nations and ships which operate in the Caribbean regularly can join forces and work together without any glitches to ensure regional security.
This latest exercise follows an agreement signed in 2023 between the UK, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and the United States – all committed to more frequently sharing information and working more closely together where their strategic interests align, specifically in the US Southern Command’s Area of Responsibility, which includes the Caribbean.
The three-nation PASSEX mixed some of the basics of naval operations - communication and manoeuvring drills – as well as more complex serials involving helicopter operations and a combined air defence workout.
There was also the opportunity for sailors from all four participating ships to ‘cross deck’ and experience life with their allies for several hours.
"We always look forward to any opportunity to operate alongside partners and allies like the Royal Navy and the Royal Netherlands Navy," said Captain Nathan Diaz, Commanding Officer of USS Normandy.
"Exercises such as these provide a great opportunity for Normandy Sailors to improve their skills and work closely with their counterparts from partnered and allied naval forces."
Medway conducts a wide-ranging mission throughout the Caribbean – from supporting regional security and joining in the ceaseless fight against drug trafficking, to providing a reassuring presence to Britain’s overseas territories, in particular delivering assistance in the wake of natural disasters.
In addition, sailors fly the flag for the mother country – everything from attending Commonwealth nation’s independence ceremonies to hosting receptions and laying on capability demonstrations.
Among the most unusual duties was to help islanders on Nevis celebrate the return of two treasured items connected with Britain’s greatest naval leaders.
The parish register of St John’s records the marriage of Captain Horatio Nelson and Frances ‘Fanny’ Nisbet, a plantation family widow, in 1787.
The couple never divorced, but by the early 1800s Fanny had famously been supplanted by Lady Hamilton in the admiral’s affection.
The Nelsons never divorced and Fanny survived her husband by more than 25 years, dying in London in 1831.
Two centuries later, and a little the worse for wear, the register – it records births, marriages and deaths in the parish on the southwest of Nevis from the early 18th Century onwards – was meticulously restored by experts from the Borthwick Institute at the University of York.
It was returned to the Caribbean island in a ceremony organised by the 1805 Club – a group dedicated to maintaining Nelson’s memory and objects and items linked with the victor of Trafalgar – and supported by ten sailors from HMS Medway.
The club also donated a stunning replica of Nelson’s uniform for display to islanders and visitors.
“It was a fantastic opportunity to support a unique and historic event, while continuing to show the Royal Navy’s enduring commitment to the Caribbean region,” said Commander James Tibbitts, HMS Medway’s Commanding Officer.