Operation Ruman
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Operation Ruman was the British government's combined military and humanitarian operations in September 2017 to provide relief to the
British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...
in the Caribbean affected by
Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Hurricane Maria, Maria two weeks later. At the time, it was considered ...
.


Background

In early September 2017 Hurricane Irma swept across the Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage to the British Overseas Territories of
Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...
, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the
British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...
. On 7 September
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
, the British Prime Minister, announced £32 million had been allocated to a relief fund to support those affected.


Military

Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ship was deployed to the Caribbean in July 2017 in preparation for the 2017 hurricane season and was therefore able to render immediate assistance as the storm passed northwards. ''Mounts Bay''s
Wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...
helicopter and mexefloat were used to land equipment, of supplies and personnel to provide medical and engineering support on
Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...
, including repairing the island's hospital and airport, before sailing overnight for the
British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...
. Following a meeting of the government's emergency committee,
COBRA COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...
, on 7 September, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon announced that the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
's
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
, the helicopter carrier , including deployed aircraft from 845 Naval Air Squadron, would be diverted from her
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
deployment in the Mediterranean to provide assistance. ''Ocean'' arrived at
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
on 11 September to embark supplies, including 4×4 vehicles and building materials donated by the
Government of Gibraltar His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every four ...
. Four
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF) Chinook helicopters carrying aid for embarkation in Gibraltar flew from RAF Benson via fuelling stops in
San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...
and
Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...
in Spain; this was unusual because Spain normally blocks military flights from its territory and airspace if they are bound to Gibraltar; however due to the humanitarian nature of these flights clearance was granted . On 8 September nearly 300 UK military personnel, including those from 40 Commando
Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
together with engineers and specialist personnel from all three Services departed
RAF Brize Norton Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton is the largest List of Royal Air Force stations, station of the Royal Air Force. Situated in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, it is close to the village of Brize Norton and the tow ...
. RAF C17, Voyager and A400M aircraft were deployed carrying medical supplies and aid including emergency shelter kits, rations and clean water. The aircraft initially landed in Barbados, which is being used as a hub to distribute aid. The C17 continued its journey onto the
US Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a Territories of the United States, territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Isl ...
– the island with the only usable runway in the region – with 85 personnel on board. A further C17 left the UK on 9 September carrying an RAF Puma helicopter with an additional 2 Puma helicopters departing the following day. By 12 September 997 British personnel were in the region, made up of marines, engineers, medics and specialists, including Royal Navy,
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
and RAF personnel. The commander for the operation was Brigadier John Ridge. Ridge countered criticism of the operation and said "the peration presentsunique and vast geographical and logistical challenges". With
Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that affected the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the ...
approaching on 18 September it was announced that the 1,300 British personnel already in the region would remain on the affected islands or in locations nearby to render immediate assistance. Additional personnel were deployed to
Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...
to provide assistance should Maria hit the island. ''Ocean'' arrived in the region on 22 September and proceeded to conduct 253 hours of flying including 81 separate trips and moved more than 1,000 people by air. 9 Assault Squadron
Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
conducted almost 200 landing craft launches and recoveries, landing 600 people and stores across 17 isolated locations. In total, ''Ocean'' delivered 8,300 man hours of engineering and logistical support enabling the recovery of critical national infrastructure alongside large scale clean-up operations across four separate island chains. ''Ocean'' also evacuated 39 vulnerable British nationals from Dominica, one of whom was very seriously ill and received life-saving treatment on board. By 10 October, the military effort was winding down, 40 Commando Royal Marines flew back to the United Kingdom and ''Ocean'' sailed for
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
for refueling and storing before resuming her NATO mission in the Mediterranean. ''Mounts Bay'' remained in the region to provide support for the remainder of the hurricane season.


Civilian

On 8 September 2017, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service Air Operations Unit in their EC135 helicopter departed Grand Cayman to pre-position at Guantanamo Naval Base, arriving in the tail of Irma. Following the all clear, the helicopter, callsign X-Ray One arrived at first light into Turks and Caicos and for 36 hours was the main aid to the Islands in assessing damage and transporting people, leading to the declaration of the state of emergency. X-Ray One crew stayed for seven days as part of Operation Ruman, making 36 flights, until relieved by a Canadian Navy Sea King. Aid was supplied from
Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...
's disaster response centre at Kemble Airfield in Gloucestershire, including 10,000 UK aid buckets and 5,000 UK solar lanterns. 53 police officers from 14 UK police forces were deployed to the British Virgin Islands to assist in maintaining law and order. A contingent of specialist prison officers were deployed to run the island's prison. In conjunction with military and police support 21 of the most high risk prisoners were transferred by air to a prison in St Lucia.


References


External links


Hurricane Irma: government response and advice
{{DEFAULTSORT:RUMAN, Operation United Kingdom–Caribbean relations Naval operations and battles Non-combat military operations involving the United Kingdom Humanitarian military operations