HMBS Lawrence Major is a support vessel operated by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.[1][2] She was built in the Netherlands by The Damen Group, to an adaptation to its Damen Stan Lander 5612 design.

The vessel is named after the first commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Lawrence Whitfield Major.[1]

The vessel is 56 metres (184 ft) long, and 12 metres (39 ft) wide.[1][2] She has a landing craft style forward ramp, allowing vehicles to roll on and roll off, for amphibious delivery. She is equipped with a 25-ton crane. She is also designed to securely carry mission modules the size of standard shipping containers, allowing a mix of missions.[3] The modules include emergency kitchens, and hospital modules, for responding to disasters. Stan Lander 5612 vessels can carry up to 42 containers, in the deckspace that would otherwise be available to carry vehicles.[4] Damen designed this class for a crew of 16.[5]

She was delivered to the Bahamas on March 18, 2016, together with three smaller patrol vessels.[1]

Operational history

On 22 April 2016 Lawrence Major transported a fire engine to Crooked Island.[6][7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Defence Force Bolsters Fleet With Three New Vessels, Mobile Base". Bahamas Tribune. March 18, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Royal Bahamas Defence Force contracts Damen for fleet of long range patrol craft". Navy Recognition. April 19, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2016. Special containers will be acquired to provide emergency relief, medical facilities, desalinated water and sanitary equipment which will rapidly be deployed in the event of a natural disaster.
  3. ↑ Sanjay Badri-Maharaj (November 30, 2016). "The Royal Bahamas Defence Force: Poised for Capability Growth". Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Retrieved April 15, 2019. The acquisition of the Damen Stan Lander is of particular note as its primary function is to assist in disaster relief operations and to this end, comes with containerised disaster relief packages which includes a 17-piece mobile base – locally termed the "Mobile Base City". These resources were deployed to assist the community of North Andros which suffered significant damage from Hurricane Matthew in October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Damen construye ocho buques Stan Lander 5612 para la Armada venezolana" [Damen Stan Lander eight ship built for the Venezuelan Navy 5612]. Infodensa. June 18, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Damen Stan Lander 5612 Logistic Support Vessel". Naval Technology. Retrieved April 15, 2019. Stan Lander 5612 has been ordered by the naval forces of Bolivia, Bahamas, Venezuela, and Panama. The first four ships in the class were assembled at the Damen shipyard in Cuba for the Venezuelan Navy.
  6. ↑ "HMBS Lawrence Major transports firefighting equipment to Crooked Island". Nassau Guardian. April 22, 2016. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ "HMBS Lawrence Major Transports Firefighting Equipment to Crooked Island". Coral Harbour: Bahama's Weekly. April 21, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  8. ↑ "HMBS Lawrence Major Transports Firefighting Equipment to Crooked Island". Bahamas Local. April 21, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016. HMBS Lawrence Major, one of the nine vessels purchased under the Sandy Bottom Project, was procured to be used primarily in efforts like these, providing sustenance and relief to our far flung islands during disasters.
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