RBDF - Sandy Bottom Project

In 1975 an order was placed to Vosper Thornycroft, EU (UK) for £5M which included three 60-foot class patrol boats as well as two 103-foot, 109 tons full load patrol craft (Marlin & Flamingo). P02 Flamingo was sunk on May 10 1980 by two Cuban FAR MiG-21s during an incident in which Flamingo had arrested two Cuban fishing vessels.

In late 1986, the force commissioned three new thirty-three-meter craft, which greatly increased its effectiveness. The high-speed boats were fitted with modern electronic surveillance and navigational equipment to combat illegal immigration, poaching, and smuggling. The RBDF also was equipped with one thirty-one-meter patrol craft, five eighteen-meter craft, and several high-speed boats for shallow water patrols in the Family Islands. In 1986 a new dry dock was planned at Coral Harbour to allow the RBDF to carry out its own maintenance and repairs.

Fort Charlotte WYFU - harbour utility craft was an LCU 1610-class landing craft. Latter converted in an harbour utility craft, it had a displacement of 339 tons full load. Built in 1958 and sold to the Bahamas in 19/Jun/1991. Wutg ramps bow and stern, it could carry 143 tons. With two new Bahamas class patrol boats [60.62 meters, 375 tons full load], built by the Halter Marine Group, in operation this force saw a quantic leap in capabilities. Cost was US$ 13M each. They are based at Prince George Dock in Nassau because Coral Harbour is too shallow for them. Accommodations for a total crew of 62. The 25 mm Mk 88 Bushmaster low-angle gun is mounted in a Kollmorgen Mk 98 stabilized mounting. This order included the option for four 43-m class (Nassau) patrol boats at US$ 36M cost, but it was never exercised and ended up being cancelled in 2000.

During a radio interview on the Bahamas radio station Love 97 Issues of the Day show on 05 December 2006, the RBDF commander stated that there were only two patrol boats operational and there is only one plane in service, but no pilot trained to fly the aircraft.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force crewed a set of patrol crafts and boats to perform the coast guard duties. It's main base was HMBS Coral Harbour, in the New Providence island. The main missions of this force are; interdiction of seaborne immigrants (mostly Haitians and Cubans), counter drug, search and rescue, EEZ patrol and disaster relief.

The “Sandy Bottom Project” represents the single largest capital investment the Government of the Bahamas has ever made in the Royal Bahamas Defence Force since its inception in 1980. Total cost of the project is $232 million dollars. This Project includes the acquisition of patrol craft, dredging of harbours and the development of bases and port facilities.

The Sandy Bottom Project sees the Royal Bahamas Defence Force decentralise its operations from Coral Harbor in Nassau to more effectively cover the entire island chain. A part of this is a fleet expansion which includes nine Damen vessels – four Stan Patrol 4207 vessels and four Stan Patrol 3007 vessels as well as the RoRo 5612. Additionally, Damen has refitted two existing 60 meter Bahamas Class vessels, to incorporate commonality with the newbuilds. The fleet expansion project has seen very close cooperation between Damen and the Defence Force and has been of mutual benefit.

The Government of The Bahamas in an effort to further promote citizen security and strengthen the resolve of its naval fleet, signed a letter of intent with Damen Shipyards Group, headquartered in Gorinchem, the Netherlands. Within this agreement the resolve of The Royal Bahamas Defence Force is to be redoubled by the following enhancements:

The procurement of nine Stan Lander vessels, The progressive improvement to existing naval bases and The dredging of at least three harbours within The Bahamas to accommodate these new long range patrol craft.

Additionally The Defence Force will benefit from the transfer of skills and expertise, to ensure that once the Damen completes the work, officers will be able to maintain and operate the new vessels.

Among the nine specialized crafts to be acquired by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force are a specialized 5612 RO/RO landing craft that will be fitted with a 25 tonne crane. This vessel is equipped for disaster relief with a roll-on, roll-off landing craft for emergency relief operations. The other eight vessels are all patrol vessels. Four of which are the Stan Patrol 4207, designed for blue-water patrol that have a range of more than 2,000 nautical miles and a top speed of more than 20 knots. The remaining four boats are The Stan Patrol 3007, specifically designed for operations in the coastal waters and shallow banks.

Damen is a company which comes highly recommended, having clientele from countries like USA, Canada, Jamaica, Barbados, Mexico, Honduras, Cape Verde and the Netherlands. Damen possesses eighty-five, (85) years of experience in vessel design, shipbuilding and additionally assisting partners in the management of all civil engineering challenges that often surround major new building projects. To complete its tasks in a proficient and timely manner, Damen will partner with a renown dredging company Van Oord, to effect the improving of marine access to Matthew Town in Greater Inagua and Gun Point in Ragged Point. Marine access in Bimini and Grand Bahama will also be completed, to ensure that the northern borders of The Bahamas are as protected as its southern borders. Much of the work Van Oord will do, beginning in 2014, will be sub-contracted locally to contractors within The Bahamas.

In July 2015 a Damen RoRo 5612 was launched at Halong Shipyard in Vietnam. The RoRo is one of nine Damen vessels ordered by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force as part of its Sandy Bottom Project. The vessel’s multi-purpose capabilities will be put to use by the Defence Force in a range of situations including law enforcement, aids to navigation (ATON), replenishment at sea (RAS), the re-supply to Defence Force bases and the provision of disaster relief throughout the island nation and the wider Caribbean community.

The Bahamas’ location in the Hurricane Belt makes it important that the country has this capability. The Defence Force works with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for the provision of disaster relief. NEMA has pre-deployed warehouses throughout the country, stocked with all the necessary food, fuels, tools and equipment that the Defence Force is responsible for transporting in the event of an emergency.

The Damen RoRo 5612 provides the Defence Force with a means of independent, rapid response to any situation that might arise throughout the 500-mile span of the island chain. Damen provided the vessel with an on board disaster package, featuring modular containers hosting a field kitchen, emergency power generators, first-aid station, drinking water treatment facilities and tools for carrying out repairs, amongst other things. The containers can easily be placed on board the vessel for transportation and unloaded when they are not required, freeing up deck space for other operations.

The 17-piece mobile base allows the RBDF to erect a mobile kitchen capable of producing 250 meals per day, a 40-foot mobile medical unit, a 20-foot dry towage container, a water treatment plan, water tanks, a 20-foot workshop for marines, two generators and other amenities. RBDF officials said the idea for a mobile platform from which emergency management could take place is new to the Bahamas and is an added feature that can best benefit a service for an archipelagic nation.

Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) held the largest commissioning ceremony in the service’s history on 18 March 2016 at the John Alfred Wharf, bolstering its fleet with three new vessels and a 17-piece containerised mobile base as it upgrades its fleet to safeguard the Bahamas. The 187-foot, multifunctional cargo carrier, HMBS Lawrence Major, along with two 98-foot patrol vessels, HMBS Lignum Vitae and HMBS Cascarilla, joined the HMBS Arthur Dion Hanna, the HMBS Durward Knowles, the HMBS Leon Smith and the HMBS Rolly Gray as seven of the nine ships that will comprise the service’s modern fleet.