Police from the Bahamas stand on the tarmac after arriving to Haiti to be part of a U.N.-backed multinational force at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, in October 2024. In February 2025, a Royal Bahamas Defence Force corvette, HMBS Nassau, was in the final steps before deployment to support the multinational security mission. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE WATCH STAFF
A Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) corvette entered the final stages of readiness for deployment to Haiti in February 2025 as part of a security mission aimed at restoring order to its Caribbean neighbor, which is ensnared in prolonged violence and turmoil. The HMBS Nassau will join a United States-sponsored security mission led by Kenya, whose troops have formed the bulk of the operation since their arrival in June 2024.
The United Nations approved the multinational security support mission in October 2023. The Bahamas, along with several other Caribbean nations, pledged troops and materiel for the mission. In 2024, the Bahamian government said its contribution would be largely naval, focusing on suppressing migrants, drugs and other illegal activities that supply Haitian gangs with revenue. The gangs have disrupted civic and economic life in Haiti for years, worsening after the assassination of the country’s president in 2021.
RBDF Capt. Glenn McPhee conducted a comprehensive inspection of HMBS Nassau, assessing the crew’s uniformity, bearing and operational readiness. “With HMBS Nassau preparing for deployment as part of the maritime element in the Haiti operation, this inspection underscored the vessel’s critical role in international security efforts,” according to an RBDF news release.
McPhee praised the officers and Marines for their discipline, professionalism and unwavering commitment to operational excellence. His inspection, “emphasized the importance of readiness, resilience, and precision as this deployment of HMBS Nassau represents the RBDF’s ongoing commitment to regional stability and global partnerships in maintaining peace and security,” the release stated.
The Nassau entered service in 1999 and was refurbished in 2016 in the Netherlands as part of the Bahamas’ Sandy Bottom project, an effort to expand and improve the RBDF’s naval capabilities. The 60-meter vessel is equipped with two rigid hull inflatable boats, four .50 M2 machine guns and 25mm automatic cannons. A full galley, sick bay and living quarters allows for longer deployments. The corvette’s deployment to Haiti aligns with the core mission of the RBDF, which is to protect Bahamian sovereignty and secure the safety and stability of international waters, which include the southeastern approaches to the U.S. “This commitment is rooted in the pursuit of excellence in leadership, which is demonstrated through professionalism. We strive to cultivate a High-Performance Workforce focused on Performance Excellence, fostering an inclusive working environment that empowers our personnel. Through meaningful involvement of service members, we share the responsibility for accomplishing the Defence Force’s Mandate,” the news release stated.
The RBDF has collaborated closely with the U.S. Coast Guard for decades, beginning with the formation of Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos in the early 1980s. The recent increased presence of the Coast Guard between the Bahamas and Florida, after a January 2025 executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump, allows the RBDF to redeploy assets like the Nassau to fulfill other security obligations. “If the Coast Guard increases, for instance, its presence between the northern Bahamas and the U.S., then there would be little reason for duplication of those efforts, and we may well be able to direct maritime assets elsewhere,” Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe told the Nassau Guardian, a Bahamian newspaper.