Analysis of the Royal Navy response to the Beirut Disaster

The news of the appalling tragedy in Beirut, where an explosion in the port has caused catastrophic damage to the city as a whole is deeply saddening. The scale of the disaster is likely to grow in coming days, as a city and state already under all manner of pressures find itself stretched to the absolute limit.

While international aid will be forthcoming, it will be a complex business to provide this aid to a city that reportedly has over 300,000 homeless people right now as a result of this catastrophe. The United Kingdom will doubtless come to the aid of the Lebanon, and provide aid and support in order to help the people of this tiny country return to some semblance of normalcy.

One of the first acts that the UK has announced is that the Royal Navy survey ship HMS ENTERPRISE, currently operating in the Med, will be dispatched to carry out a port survey. This doesn’t sound like much and doubtless many people will be scratching their heads and saying ‘is that it’? In fact this contribution is incredibly important and is likely to have a direct impact in getting aid in and out of the city in the near future.

HMS ENTERPRISE -Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright

The port of Beirut is critical to the national economy of Lebanon,  accounting for some 60% of imports and handling all manner of foodstuffs and other items that need to be distributed for the people of Lebanon. The importance of the port, both from a position of delivering aid, but also reopening to permit economic activity that can restart peoples jobs and way of life is essential.

It cannot be stressed highly enough that getting the port open ASAP is going to be critical to the chances of saving life, landing aid and helping Beirut and Lebanon as a whole stand the best possible chance of recovering from this catastrophe.

Ports though are very complex places, comprising restricted waterways, shallow water where the risk of running aground increases and all manner of navigational challenges. Modern ships require complex equipment to load and unload their cargo – for example grain requires a different set of equipment to shipping containers.

It is vital for ship owners and operators to understand the risks and hazards to navigation, and the likely capability of the port to handle their vessels. If, for example, the port has a berth open that is great – but if that berth cannot handle ships of a certain type, then this quickly could become an issue.

Given the scale of the disaster, although aid is likely to be flown in by air, there is also likely to need to be a longer term commitment to providing support by sea with food and supplies to keep the huge numbers of suddenly homeless people alive and safe.

Therefore conducting a survey of the port, the damage to it and more importantly understanding the below water picture of obstacles, obstructions, changes to measured depths and potential impact on ship movements is essential.

All it takes is one ship to go into the port, run aground or strike a previously unknown object and suddenly it could cripple the port operations, and with it, the economic lifeblood of the Lebanon. It is vital that this port reopens as quickly as possible.

It is worth remembering that the damage will not just be in the port, but potentially some way out to sea. In the Texas City explosion of 1947, a 2.5 tonne anchor was blown well over a mile out to sea, so it is possible all manner of debris has landed on the shore bed, potentially impacting on navigational safety.

The offer of a Royal Navy vessel to carry this surveying work out therefore makes a massive difference, because it means that the survey can be done quickly and effectively. HMS ENTERPRISE is really well equipped for the task, with a combination of effective sonar equipment that can map out the sea bed and identify changes from previously known features, and also use her smaller motorboats to go into the port itself and carry out similar surveys in these particularly challenging waters.

This information can be quickly collated by the Hydrographers, both onboard the ship and back at the UK Hydrographic Office back in Taunton, where it will be used to provide updated charts and navigational information to mariners about where it is safe to sail. This information will be used to provide safe passage planning that will allow ships to know they can safely enter and leave harbour without risk.

This doesn’t sound that complicated, but it’s a niche skill that very few navies invest much money or time in. The UK is a world leader in this area, and Admiralty Charts are used the world over by navies and merchant ships to provide safe navigational information.

This is the sort of contribution that makes a game changing difference to the ability of Lebanon to recover. If up to date navigational information is available, ships can enter the harbour again and aid can be delivered and imports flow. This will make it possible for the port to operate and not be an useable site.

While survey ships rarely capture much interest or imagination, they are among the most crucial assets the Royal Navy has. The ‘E’ class is a particularly capable platform, and will be able to stay at sea and operate for an extended period, as well as provide timely support to other assets in the area (for example they operate as support ships for MCMV vessels).

The two E class ships (HMS ECHO and ENTERPRISE) have been used globally since commissioning. HMS ECHO for example was used to conduct searches for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, and they have been a near permanent presence in the Med for several years now.

HMS ENTERPRISE has spent much of the last year conducting survey operations in the South China Sea, and due to the way the E class are crewed, averages some 330 days per year at sea, due to a third watch system that allows crew to fly home and rotate through - a model now used widely in the wider Royal Navy.

84Sqn at RAF Akrotiri working with HMS ENTERPRISE Aug 2020

The initial UK  military contribution may be small, but it is very meaningful and opens the door for further assistance when required. The UK already has a not insubstantial military presence in Cyprus, including British Army personnel able to support in a variety of roles, as well as the very capable air base of RAF Akrotiri.

While there is a risk of ‘mission creep’, the fact that these facilities exist very close to the Lebanon means that there is a secure and capable airfield capable of taking large numbers of aircraft and supporting them, and providing over the water logistics support if needed. Were aid to be flown into Cyprus, then it could be a good staging post until the airport in Lebanon reopened in due course. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that British Forces Cyprus are looking at what support could be offered if tasked to do so.

There were some suggestions that the UK should send RFA ARGUS, an aviation training vessel equipped with hospital facilities to the crisis. While laudable, the ARGUS is currently in the West Indies operating with embarked aviation to be ready to offer disaster relief during hurricane season, which is reportedly expected to be particularly heavy this year.

If ARGUS were to be redeployed, she is about 2 weeks sail from the Med, meaning that it is a minimum 4-6 week round trip back to the West Indies. The risk would be that if deployed, the UK would lack any essential cover in the region to support our friends in the Overseas Territories if a natural disaster occurred.

While ARGUS would doubtless add value to the response, it must be seen in the context that there are other options available, for example allied navies could deploy landing ships based in the Med. While it is good that the UK plays a leading role in offering support to the people of Lebanon, the answer is not always send a large ship, when a survey ship is often far better for the task at hand.

Fundamentally this is a good and appropriate response from the UK. It is about providing assistance to those who need it, and providing the right kind of assistance that will act as a very significant force multiplier now, helping save lives and restore hope.

It is also perhaps a reminder of the flexibility of Royal Navy sea power. According to her tweets, ENTERPRISE was returning home from a Far East deployment, and had been operating near Cyprus. That she has now quickly turned around is a good reminder of both the flexibility of seapower, and the adaptability of crew to shift from a homecoming mentality after a long deployment to a lifesaving operational focus in a few hours. 

The crew of HMS ENTERPRISE are very well trained in what they do,  they are capable of making a significant difference and they are absolutely ideal to deliver life saving support now by hydrographic work.

This is yet another example of the globally deployed Royal Navy providing fast responses to emerging crises, and is testament to the skills and capabilities of our ships and people. It is also testament to the superb work of the UK Hydrographic Office, who perhaps don’t always get the attention they deserve, but do superb work globally, and whose products will, quite literally, be a life saver for those who need it most.