RFA Mounts Bay, a British Royal Navy auxiliary aid ship, was deployed to offer support during the Category 5 hurricane, according to the Ministry of Defence press office. The ship is fully equipped, capable of carrying amphibious vehicles and includes a helicopter for rescue and surveying operations. The vessel’s current position is unknown but its last whereabouts were near the British Virgin Islands around two days ago.
British military personnel helped rebuild the islands after they were badly hit by a series of storms in autumn 2017.
Every year the Royal Navy deploys ships to the region ahead of hurricane season across different overseas territories, including Commonwealth countries.
Ships are sent to the region annually before the hurricane season as a standby to provide disaster relief.
Evacuations along the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia have been put in place in anticipation of Hurricane Dorian making landfall in the US.
The hurricane is less than 150 miles away from the Florida coast, with parts of the state being evacuated.
Millions of people from Florida to North Carolina are bracing for Dorian’s possible landfall.
The storm could also veer north into the Atlantic Ocean and avoid any further devastation.
Georgia’s governor Brian Kemp ordered a mandatory evacuation of the state’s coast starting at noon on Monday ahead of Hurricane Dorian.
JUST IN: Hurricane Dorian: Storm claims first casualty as 7-year-old boy
Dorian has caused devastation in the Bahamas as winds measuring up to 220mph tore through the Caribbean.
The Category 5 hurricane is the second most powerful Atlantic hurricane on record.
It is expected to move through the Abaco islands before heading towards Florida and up the east coast of America.
The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) claim hazards for the Abaco Islands included storm surges 18 to 23 feet (5.5 to 7metres) above normal tide levels with higher destructive waves.
The Miami based NHC said Dorian struck Elbow Cay in the back Islands with maximum sustained winds of 185mph and gusts of more than 220mph.
The NHC claim Dorian will remain a hurricane for at least five days.
So far there has been one casualty as a result of the hurricane.
A seven-year-old boy was killed after his family attempted to evacuate their home.
The boy’s sister is still missing.