Notice Board

Second New Off-Shore Vessel joins
Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard Fleet

Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, Prime Minister of Jamaica and
Minister of Defence, addresses members of the Jamaica Defence Force,
her first formal occasion, at the Commissioning Ceremony of HMJS Middlesex.

Her Majesty’s Jamaican Ship (HMJS) MIDDLESEX, sister vessel to HMJS CORNWALL, was formally named and commissioned into service on 07 April 2005. The blessings which was followed by a sunset ceremony took place at JDF Coast Guard Headquarters in Port Royal. The wife of Jamaica’s Governor General Her Excellency Lady Hall had the honour of formalizing the naming of the vessel.

The Captain of Middlesex and his crew on
Parade aboard the vessel during the
Commissioning ceremony.

The commissioning ceremony was a historic occasion, as the new Prime Minister of Jamaica, Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, the first female to hold such high office, and who also took on the Portfolio of Minister of Defence, on that occasion addressed the gathering, her first formal visit took the military since taking up of her office. She spoke very strongly on launching a decisive offensive against those who would invade Jamaica’s borders to ply illicit drugs and other contraband.

His Excellency the Governor General The Most Honourable Professor Kenneth Hall (left) and his wife, Lady Hall, are met by the Chief of Staff on their arrival for the Commissioning ceremony.

HMJS MIDDLESEX is the second of three new coast guard vessels that has been delivered to the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard by Damen Shipyards in the Netherlands. The first vessel HMJS CORNWALL is now in service following its commissioning in October 2005.

The acquisition of these modern high speed vessels will enable the Coast Guard to provide the necessary continuous presence in the offshore areas of Jamaica’s archipelagic waters and Exclusive Economic Zone; Search and Rescue and other emergencies; intelligence-driven operations and most importantly, allow for routine maintenance and training.

The new vessels and the refitting of other vessels will together provide the JDF Coast Guard with the capacity to exercise greater command and control of its operations in the various maritime areas of interest to Jamaica.