ROYAL BAHAMAS DEFENSE FORCE PREPAREDNESS -- A ROOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 000322

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2014
TAGS: MCAP PBTS PHSA PINS PREF
SUBJECT: ROYAL BAHAMAS DEFENSE FORCE PREPAREDNESS -- A ROOT
CAUSE FOR BAHAMIAN CONCERN

REF: NASSAU 285

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SUMMARY
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(1) (C) The possibility of uncontrolled outflows from Haiti
is a dominant undercurrent in the on-going domestic debate in
The Bahamas about the implications of current unrest
throughout Haiti. Underlying this debate is Bahamian
recognition that the country of 305,000 inhabitants is
ill-equipped to control is own borders. The assets that the
Royal Bahamian Defence Force (RBDF) could bring to bear in
the event of large migrant outflows from Haiti to, or
through, The Bahamas are extremely limited. The Royal
Bahamas Defense Force navy includes only four currently
functioning vessels. The Bahamas would be completely
dependent on the United States in the event an uncontrolled
outflow occurs.
END SUMMARY

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HOW HELPFUL CAN THE RBDF BE IF A MASS MIGRATION OCCURS?
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(2) (C) The answer is, in summary, "not much." The RBDF has
four currently operational medium/large vessels to patrol
Bahamian territorial waters encompassing 100,000 square miles
-- an area equal in size to the state of California.


3. (C) The RBDF naval complete inventory is 15 vessels, nine
of which are currently operational, only four of which are
large enough to patrol large areas. The inventory is as
follows:


HMBS Nassau; HMBS Bahamas
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4. (SBU) These are two 60 meter, 375 ton displacement
vessels, each with a patrolling range of 3,000 miles. Both
of these two ships regularly patrols Southern Bahamian
waters, under normal circumstances.


5. (C) The HMBS Nassau is operational. The HMBS Bahamas is
out of service for the past three months for major engine
repairs estimated to cost $600,000. The government hopes
that repairs could be effected by early March, but this goal
is unlikely to be met. On February 9, Foreign Minister Fred
Mitchell told Charge that he expected the "Bahamas" to be
back in service by March 5. However, FM Mitchell's optimism
has not been seconded by other Bahamian officials. RDDF and
a senior Ministry of National Security official acknowledged
to Charge February 11 that the HMBS Bahamas was unlikely to
be returned to service before the end of March, at the
earliest.


6. (C) To compensate for the absence of the HMBS Bahamas,
the senior-most National Security officials have told Charge
that they strongly favor using the U.S. Naval Base at
Guantanamo for refueling and re-provisioning in order to
increase the HMBS Nassau's on-site presence. FM Mitchell is
reluctant to support this action for political reasons. RBDF
Commodore Rolle is simply reluctant.

HMBS Yellow Elder; HMBS Port Nelson; HMBS Samana
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7. (SBU) These are 33-meter vessels, each with a patrolling
range of 600 miles. One of the ships in this category
regularly patrols Southern Bahamian waters.


8. (C) HMBS Yellow Elder is operational. The "Port Nelson"
and "Samana," are currently out of service with no return to
service date predicted.

HMBSA Inagua
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9. (SBU) The "Inagua" is an 18 meter, 30 ton vessel with a
patrolling range of 650 miles. This vessel regularly patrols
the Exuma Islands and the Ragged Island Basin.

Smaller Vessels With Limited Patrolling Capabilities
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10. (SBU) There are also two 12-meter vessels, each with a
patrolling range of 600 miles. One regularly patrols the
Exumas and southern New Providence islands. The other is
currently out of service for an engine rebuild. The return
to service date is unknown, but the repair has been scheduled.


11. (SBU) The fleet rounds off with four 6-meter Boston
Whalers that are based at Nassau Harbor and perform security
patrols in the country's principal cruise ship port and three
"go-fast" boats. One of the go-fasts is currently
operational and based at the RDDF headquarters base in Coral
Harbor on New Providence Island. The other two "go-fasts"
are undergoing repairs with unknown return to service dates.


Comment
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12. (C) As this overview indicates, the Bahamian fleet is
modest and effectively incapable, even under normal
circumstances, of fulfilling the RBDF's roles of drug and
alien interdiction, interdiction of fish poachers within The
Bahamas' exclusive economic zone, and frequent search and
rescue operations in the 100,000 square miles of Bahamian
territorial seas. Effectively, there are only eight vessels
suitable for patrol between The Bahamas and Haiti and half of
these are out of service for mechanical reasons.
WITAJEWSKI