Following the explosion at Beirut Port on 4 August the UK Government announced a package of emergency support to Lebanon.
After a call between Hassan Diab, Prime Minister of Lebanon and the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, the UK made up to £5 million in emergency humanitarian funding available to help people made homeless by the disaster.
Furthermore, the UK offered enhanced support to the Lebanese Armed Forces, who are central to the Government of Lebanon’s response, including tailored medical help, strategic air transport assistance, and engineering and communications support.
In addition the UK offered to send an EMT advance clinical advisory team who could provide initial assessment and coordination with search and rescue teams. UK International Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) offer a rapid provision of internationally accredited public health, medical and surgical teams including both National Health Service (NHS) and non NHS experts.
Hydrographic survey
HMS Enterprise (illustrated) will sail to Lebanon as part of a wide-ranging package of military support made available on 5 August by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
The hydrographic survey vessel will steam to Lebanon to assess the damage of Beirut’s port following Tuesday’s explosion and help the port return to normal operations. Deployment of the ship will complement the immediate package of military and civilian support above.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace commented: ‘At the request of the Lebanese Government I have authorised the sending of HMS Enterprise to help survey the Port of Beirut, assessing the damage and supporting Lebanon rebuild this vital piece of national infrastructure.
‘We have a close and enduring friendship with the Lebanese people, our military is ready to support them in their time of need.
‘The Port of Beirut is crucially important for the economic stability of Lebanon and receives the majority of the country’s imports.’
As at 6 August / 1930 GMT HMS Enterprise was berthed in Limassol, Cyprus, at the same time as Foreign & Commonwealth Office staff were working with the Lebanese authorities to determine the optimum time for the ship’s deployment.
A small team of UK military are to deploy to the British 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 capabilities.
According to www.forces.net losses from the blast are estimated to be between $10 billion and $15 billion (£7.6bn to £11.4bn), Beirut governor Marwan Abboud told the Saudi-owned TV station Al-Hadath.
Photo: MoD Crown Copyright 2020 ©
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IALA encourages its members to work together in a common effort to harmonise Marine Aids to Navigation worldwide and to ensure that the movements of vessels are safe, expeditious and cost-effective while protecting the environment.
Taking into account the needs of mariners, developments in technology and the requirements and constraints of aids to navigation authorities, a number of technical committees have been established bringing together experts from around the world.
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