HMS Enterprise: supporting Lebanon
This Naval vessel is on an unexpected deployment to Beirut to as part of military support after a devastating explosion rocked the Lebanese capital
Over the past five years, this naval vessel has been involved in a diverse range of activities, from detecting mines in the Arabian Gulf to saving lives and disrupting the work of human traffickers.
The ship sailed from Cyprus and has now arrived in Lebanon, where her role will be to access the damage of Beirut’s port following the explosion and help return it to normal operations.
We have a close relationship with the Lebanese people, and in this time of crisis, we are ready to help bring them back to some sort of normality.
The port in Beirut is vitally important to Lebanon, being among the top 10 seaports in the Mediterranean Sea, it is considered the gateway to the Middle East.
The deployment of HMS Enterprise will complement an immediate package of military and civilian support and £5m worth of aid.
The UK Armed Forces are also deploying a small team to the UK Embassy in Beirut to help identify requirements and coordinate the package of wider support to the Lebanese Armed Forces.
This includes the offer of tailored medical support, military air transport assistance and engineering and communications.
HMS Enterprise explained:
HMS Enterprise is an Echo-class multi-role survey vessel — hydrographic oceanographic (SVHO). Simply put, she surveys and maps the ocean floor.
But she is multi-talented, she can be at home mapping the ocean floor or she could be acting as a floating base for our minehunters.
She has surveyed hundreds of thousands of square miles of the ocean floor, filled in as the Falkland Island’s Patrol Vessel, and most recently acted as the flagship to Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group 2.
Crew skills
HMS Enterprise is manned by a small (50) multi-talented crew. Despite the small crew, their talents account for much more.
- Oceanographic and hydrographic surveys — examining and mapping the ocean floor
- Ensuring safe navigation on and under the water
- Acting as ‘mothership’ for Mine Counter-Measure Vessels — engineers and sailors are trained and equipped to support these specialist ships in their duties
