HMS Chatham rescues Yemeni fishermen
16 Feb 10
While on a counter-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden, the Royal Navy warship HMS Chatham recently came to the aid of some Yemeni fishermen whose dhow was seen drifting helplessly.
Royal Marines from HMS Chatham come to the aid of 21 Yemeni fishermen in a drifting dhow
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
The Type 22 Devonport-based frigate is currently deployed on NATO's Operation OCEAN SHIELD.
The Royal Marines onboard the ship were dispatched to the aid of the 21 Yemeni fishermen who were drifting in the middle of the policed shipping zone, the internationally recommended transit corridor, which is deemed the safest route for maritime traffic.
On arrival, it quickly became clear to the Marines that the dhow, which was full of fish and fishing equipment, needed assistance.
The distressed fishermen were in a vulnerable position in the middle of an extremely busy shipping lane and, to make matters worse, they were 81 miles (130km) from land with no fuel.
HMS Chatham was able to provide enough fuel for the Yemenis to return home safely.
Petty Officer Steve Perry, who took charge of getting the fuel from HMS Chatham to the dhow, said:
"The master of the dhow was happy to see us and very appreciative that a NATO ship was able to provide him with some fuel. I'm glad that we could help them go safely on their way."
HMS Chatham's Royal Marines head off to carry out a tanker sweep in the deep water anchorage near the Al Basrah Iraqi oil terminal
[Picture: LA(Phot) Chris Winter, Crown Copyright/FCO 2008]
HMS Chatham's Commanding Officer, Commander Simon Huntington, said:
"I am delighted HMS Chatham was in the right place and able to help the Yemeni fishermen. We are here to deter the pirates and protect the interests of innocent seafarers and that is what we are achieving.
"These Yemeni fishermen live in fear of piracy themselves and, on this occasion more than ever, they were safeguarded by the presence of NATO warships in the region."
HMS Chatham is in the Gulf of Aden patrolling with NATO off the Horn of Africa and in the Somali Basin. Along with other multi-national task groups and warships in the area, HMS Chatham is protecting merchant ships, many of which are destined for the UK, as they transit these busy sea lanes which are a main artery of the global economy.
The three other ships comprising HMS Chatham's task group (Standing NATO Maritime Group 1) are HDMS Absalon (Danish Navy), HMCS Fredericton (Canadian Navy), and USS Boone (US Navy).
Permanently assigned to NATO, the task group is a multi-national naval group providing NATO with the ability to quickly respond to crisis situations anywhere in the world.
It is one of four standing maritime elements that form a flexible core around which NATO can build a larger force to meet a wide range of missions that include non-combatant evacuations, consequence management, counter-terrorism, crisis response, and embargo operations.