The Royal Navy warship HMSManchester will arrive in Bermuda today as part of her deployment to the Caribbean region.

Government House issued a press release yesterday, announcing the arrival. The ship was stationed off the Island in September when her helicopter was used to survey Bermuda following Hurricane Igor.

HMS Manchester was first deployed to the Caribbean area in May.

Since then she has carried out operations in support of British Overseas Territories including the British Virgin Islands after a near miss by Hurricane Earl. The ship gave additional support to St. Lucia following Hurricane Tomas.

Said a spokeswoman: "As part of her role in counter narcotics operations, the ship has been working closely with the Joint Inter Agency Task Force (South) based in Key West and an embarked US Coastguard law enforcement detachment team. The joint aim is to stem the flow of illegal narcotics through the Caribbean and onwards into the USA and Europe. A notable success was the recent interception of a 240-kg consignment of cocaine off the Colombian coast."

The 141-metre warship has a crew of 250. She will dock at Ireland Island today and is scheduled to leave the Island tomorrow.