The Royal Navy’s auxiliary ship RFA Lyme Bay has returned home after patrolling the Atlantic, visiting 16 nations, helping with two disaster relief operations, and making a $53million cocaine bust. RFA Lyme Bay sailed into Falmouth, England at the weekend having completed a six-month patrol of the North Atlantic and Caribbean islands.
The landing ships core company were joined by Royal Navy and Royal Marines, along with Army Commandos and a 20 man Royal Navy Lynx helicopter flight.
Over the course of her deployment Lyme Bay visited 11 Caribbean islands representing the UK Government. The ship also provided support to the islands of Dominica and the Bahamas after they were struck by tropical storms.
The Royal Navy Lynx helicopter was also put to good use assisting local police forces in finding illegal marijuana plantations, charcoal production sites, illegal fishing activities, and criminal hideouts.
The ship also worked closely with the US Coastguard to seek out and stop vessels suspected of smuggling drugs.
A US Coastguard spokesman said of the effort: “Lyme Bay’s patrols prevented 2,500kg of cocaine from reaching our shores and nearly $53 million dollars of illicit revenue which will never be used to fund instability, violence or corruption.” [mappress mapid=”17545″]