Ash evacuation: how the Royal Navy would do it
Updated on 19 April 2010
A Royal Navy Task Force of three warships, including the flagship of the fleet, have been ordered by the government to help bring stranded travellers back to the UK. But what exactly can these ships do?
The three ships certainly have an illustrious record between them.
The aircraft carrier Ark Royal is the current flagship of the fleet, while the assault helicopter carrier HMS Ocean is the biggest ship in the Royal Navy - and also one of the newest.
The third vessel mentioned by Gordon Brown this morning in his rescue plan, HMS Albion, is primarily designed to "embark, transport, deploy and recover troops with their equipment and vehicles which form part of an amphibious assault force".
However the business of recovering an estimated 150,000 Britons returning homeevery day is far different from launch a rapid naval assault.
Unlike the mass evacuation of Dunkirk's beaches in which some half a million solders were plucked from France's beaches in 1940, the Royal Navy will have to work out how to properly ensure all customs requirements and registration processes are dealt with.
Each warship is able to carry troops on long - term deployment, so will have accomodation and catering facilities.
For the expected short ferry across the Channel, it is conceivable that many more passengers could be fitted into the ship - at the cost of the passenger's comfort, of course.
Tim Fish, maritime reporter for Jane's Defence, said: "All three ships have roughly 20,000 tonnage so they're big vessels, certainly, with lots of space to put people in.
"They're designed to accommodate troops for long term deployments so should be able to take passengers for a short trip across the channel, no problem.
"Civilians won't be able to roam across the ship like aboard a normal ferry. They will probably be bedded down in canteens and storage areas.
"They'll be able to dock in the ports. They won't be able to load and unload as fast as modern ferries and will have to manoeuvre into position."
So what do the three ships do and how can they help?
HMS Ocean
HMS Ocean off the coast of Cyprus, 2003.
Of the three ships, HMS Ocean seems to be the best suited to relocating travellers back to these shores.
One of the newest vessels in the navy, commissioned only 12 years ago, she is purpose built to deliver troops and their equipment quickly.
The ship's primary function is to deliver troops, and to that end she carries a mixture of 18 medium and attack helicopters. She also carries four landing craft.
Everything about the ship is geared around the delivery of troops - even corridors are extra-wide to ensure heavily laden marines can embark and disembark swiftly.
She is reputed to be one of the busiest ships in the navy and is certainly the biggest. At full capacity she can carry just over 1,200 personnel - including the 445 crew.
HMS Ocean has the added benefit of being able to transport vehicles, so if the plan was to include their return, they could easily be loaded via her ramps.
HMS Ocean is in southern UK waters, so could be deployed to the Channel quickly.
HMS Ark Royal
HMS Ark Royal returns to Portsmouth after the Gulf War, 2003
HMS Ark Royal is the current flagship of the fleet. She first set sail 25 years ago and is the largest of the three current aircraft carriers in the navy.
An Invincible class aircraft carrier, her original purpose was to launch fixed-wing planes via her traditional "ski lift" runway. She has widened her capability to carry helicopters.
Last refitted in 2007, she took part in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 carrying only helicopters instead of her usual Harrier jump jets.
She is due to be replaced in 2016 by the proposed HMS Prince of Wales - a vessel that is expected to be three times the size of Ark Royal.
Ark Royal can carry just under 1,000 personnel, 685 of which are crew. The Ark Royal has no capacity to board vehicles so it would only be able to transport foot passengers.
Upon docking, passengers can either walk off via ramps or take small motorboats to shore.
The ship's motto is "zeal does not rest".
The Ark Royal is currently in northern Scottish waters, and once underway it could be in the Channel in a day or so.
However, the planning involved to move both Ark Royal and Ocean is in "early stages", according to the MoD.
HMS Albion
HMS Albion guided by tug boats down the River Thames in London, 12 July 2006.
Launched in 2001, the Albon is a "landing platform dock" (LPD) - that is to say, her two primary roles are to act as a floating command platform for landing operations and to herself rapidly embark and recover troops and their equipment during naval assaults.
She is the smallest of these three ships and is able to carry a total of 600 troops (including 256 crew) along with their transport vehicles and supplies.
The ship's flight deck is able to rotate two helicopters at a time through embarking/disembarking operations. She is designed to work in concert with the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean.
HMS Albion's main advantage is that she can carry vehicles very easily. With space for up to 60 battle tanks she could accommodate vehicles quite simply. But it's likely the focus again would be on foot passengers.
Her motto is "fortiter, fideliter, feliciter" (boldly, faithfully, successfully).
The Albion is currently en route from Antwerp to Spain to pick up over 200 troops from 3 Rifles regiment currently returning from Afghanistan, and bring them back to the UK.
Some 200 troops from 3 Rifles have already made their way home via Bordeaux.
