Yesterday was labelled an historic day in T&T with the docking of the TTS Nelson II, a large operational naval ship of T&T Defence Force.
Under the captaincy of Commander Jason Kelshall, who is the son of retired Rear Admiral Richard Kelshall, and Executive Officer, Lt Commander Akenton Isaac, the ship departed China for T&T on September 10. The elder Kelshall had captained the TTS Nelson in 2000 from England to T&T. That vessel is to be decommissioned.
From China the new vessel crossed three oceans, three seas, visited three continents and five countries in a 12,476 nautical mile journey that took 35 days and nine hours.
The vessel, which was constructed by the China Ship Building Company Ltd was commissioned in China on September 6, 2015.
Speaking afterwards, Capt Kelshall said he was proud he was chosen to bring the ship home.
“It was an honour just to be the face of my crew. My crew is brilliant, some of the best ever, my crew. I was just the face,” Kelshall said.
National Security Minister, Edmund Dillon described the vessel’s arrival as a defining moment in the life of the Defence Force (assigned to the T&T Coast Guard).
He confirmed the vessel was one that was ordered by the previous government and assured that his administration would continue to rebuild T&T's national security apparatus and fill in the gaps in the current security architecture.
“We will not simply abandon the capacity that has been put in place in the past. We will not act hastily in our review of our country’s national security assets and capacity.
This will not be our modus operandi. We are a responsible Government,” Dillon said.
He, however, could not say whether additional vessels for the T&T Coast Guard would be acquired.
“We are going to use the vessels that we have right now. To say whether we can expect more has to be based on threat analysis and therefore that will determine to a large extent if we require more and what type of vessels we may require,” he said.
In his address, at the official ceremony for the crew’s arrival, Dillon said Government’s intent was to upgrade and re-build efficient and effective defence and law enforcement agencies.
“That is why securing our maritime boundaries, as part of our overall border security strategy, is of such great importance to us as a people. Our porous borders are a major source of the proliferation of illegal guns and drugs, which are primary drivers of crime in T&T,” Dillon added.
To neutralise that challenge, Dillon said Government would move to establish a joint border protection agency that would manage the security and integrity of T&T’s borders; ensure appropriate military assets were acquired, deployed and maintained and utilise information, integration and rapid response of all agencies to meet all external threats.
“The Coast Guard must therefore continue to develop into a modern and forward-looking organisation which will be able to defend T&T’s maritime interests, as well as meet our regional commitments, obligations and responsibilities,” he said.