Above: the HMS Protector
By the Caribbean Journal staff
The United Kingdom’s HMF Protector will be in Montserrat next week to conduct surveys of the island’s seabed.
The role of the ship is to conduct surveys as present charts are out of date — and given changes caused by volcanic activity, there is a need to have more accurate images of the conditions in the waters around the island, according to Richard Aspin, communications officer for the office of Governor Adrian Davis.
The information will both help ships needing to come into the harbour and provide better information for general shipping purposes.
The ship will also be aping the Carrs Bay seabed area to prepare for the proposed construction of its new port.
The HMS Protector is one of the newest additions to the British Navy Fleet — it includes a flight deck and an echo sounder.