Royal Navy warship HMS Trent is en route to the Cayman Islands to offer UK support following the severe damage caused by Hurricane Beryl.

HMS Trent, an Offshore Patrol Vessel, is expected to arrive in the Cayman Islands this weekend. The crew will provide assistance, offering equipment and support to communities affected by flooding and storm damage.

Hurricane Beryl, a Category 5 storm, has brought winds exceeding 155 mph and has caused significant destruction in the region this week.

HMS Trent, with over 50 sailors on board, departed from Puerto Rico yesterday, carrying bottled water, emergency supplies, and essential equipment. The ship is equipped with a Crisis Response Troop, including members of 24 Commando Royal Engineers and their gear, as well as additional personnel for planning, information operations, meteorological forecasting, and image capture.

The ship also includes a team from 700X Naval Air Squadron, which provides HMS Trent’s embarked PUMA Flight (Remote Piloted Air System). This system allows for airborne reconnaissance and damage assessment to directly support the activities of 24 Commando.

A specialist Rapid Deployment Team has already traveled to the Eastern Caribbean to assist any affected British Nationals. The UK is working with the Caribbean’s crisis response organization, CDEMA, to aid the most severely impacted islands, including St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.

In previous years, the Armed Forces have deployed to the Caribbean under Operation Ventus to provide humanitarian aid, including food and basic medical relief, engineering to repair homes and infrastructure, and the creation of flood and hurricane defenses.

Hurricane Beryl is noted as the earliest-ever Category 5 storm to form in the Atlantic, with such storms typically occurring later in the summer.

HMS Trent has been stationed in the Caribbean since the end of 2023, actively disrupting drug networks. The crew has conducted several drug seizures at sea, including a significant operation in May where more than £204 million worth of cocaine was intercepted, following an earlier double-bust netting nearly £300 million. Photo by Shaun Roster, Wikimedia commons.