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RFA hurricane relief ship captain dies

Captain Rob Anders, Commanding Officer of the RFA Mounts Bay (Photograph from the Royal Navy website)

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary captain of a disaster relief ship that delivered life-saving hurricane aid to the Caribbean has died.

Rob Anders was 49.

Captain Anders, who skippered RFA Mounts Bay over a three-year deployment to the Caribbean, was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2020 for his humanitarian work.

The Royal Navy said that Captain Anders insisted the ship’s company earned the award more than he did.

Captain Anders added: “A ship will only be effective if it’s a team – everyone on Mounts Bay, no matter which service, was part of that team.”

The ship, named after a bay in Cornwall in Britain, patrolled the Caribbean during the hurricane season and carried out anti-drug trafficking patrols.

Mounts Bay first visited Bermuda in 2017 after it supported Britain’s Caribbean Overseas Territories after hurricanes Irma, Jose and Maria.

The vessel also provided logistical support to the Royal Bermuda Regiment.

Captain Anders was in command when Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm, devastated the Bahamas in September 2019.

The ship delivered tons of much needed relief for thousands of people.

Captain Anders died last month of a brain tumour.

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Published January 23, 2021 at 8:00 am (Updated January 22, 2021 at 12:38 pm)

RFA hurricane relief ship captain dies

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