What We Do | Providing Humanitarian Assistance

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Whether disasters are human-made or natural, the results are often the same: fractured infrastructure, shortages of food and water, and a lack of essential services like sanitation and electricity. Responding to these life-threatening scenarios is central to our ethos – we have the skills, experience and equipment to make a real difference when it matters most.

Providing humanitarian assistance

Restoring infrastructure

From frozen tundra to dense jungle, we’re used to getting the job done in challenging conditions. No power? No problem. No water? We'll improvise. Overcoming adverse conditions is all in a day’s work for our teams, so we’re ready and able whether we are re-establishing law and order, restoring water and power, or repairing airstrips, roads and buildings.

Providing humanitarian assistance

Providing aid and support

By combining the brute strength and capability of our fleet with the agility of the Fleet Air Arm’s helicopters, we get aid where it’s needed most, fast. Our capability, tenacity and creativity have made a lifesaving difference in Sri Lanka, Haiti, the Philippines and the Caribbean Islands, getting supplies, skills and support to courageous people facing down disaster.

Providing humanitarian assistance

Evacuations, rescues and repatriation

From evacuations during crises through to rescue and repatriation following natural disasters, we’re here for the people of the UK and its territories. We also provide emergency medical evacuations to ship and islands in British waters, and conduct rescue missions closer to home, returning stranded swimmers, hikers and surfers to safety.

Providing humanitarian assistance

Preparing for every eventuality

A capable military plans and prepares for emergencies we hope you will never see. So rest assured that whatever the circumstances, the Royal Navy is ready. Whether that means sandbagging to save homes in the Lake District as floodwaters rise, assisting police, medics and firefighters following civil unrest, or restoring calm and order to overseas territories following natural disasters, our people are poised and prepared.

Lieutenant Boak
Navigating Officer

During our transit out to the Gulf, HMS Shoreham will be on standby to divert if we need to help in a Safety of Life at Sea crisis. That means we're on-call if another ship gets into trouble. I'm proud that my skills may be called upon to help us save lives, and that in doing my job well, I'll make a potentially lifesaving difference in our speed to rescue.

Leading Engineering Technician Green
Marine Engineer

Helping deliver aid to Sierra Leone was the best and most rewarding experience of my career in the Royal Navy. It was hard work, but I got to work side-by-side with the people who would benefit most, and saw what a difference my efforts made.

Able Rate James
Logistics Officer

I'll never forget the people we met in the Philippines after the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan. They saw us working out in the heat trying to get their school back up and running, and were trying to give us food and water - and yet they were the ones in need. It was a humbling experience I will never forget.