PREVIEW

The Royal Navy has come to the aid of six rare turtles that were blown thousands of miles off course from warmer waters towards the UK coastline.

Collaborating with two marine life organisations, the Senior Service transported half a dozen loggerhead turtles back to warmer seas, about 1,500 miles southwest of Britain.

The crew of HMS Medway, en route to patrol the Caribbean, released the vulnerable turtles near the Azores, an island chain in the middle of the Atlantic.

HMS Medway departed from Plymouth last week to take over from her sister ship, HMS Trent, supporting international counter-drug smuggling efforts across the Americas and aiding island communities affected by hurricanes.

Along with its regular cargo of food, machinery parts, disaster relief, and aid kits, HMS Medway carried the turtles named Jason, Gordon, Perran, Hayle, Holly, and Tonni.

Rod Jones, the Royal Navy’s Senior Maritime Environmental Protection Adviser, stated: “As professional mariners, many of us are keen to do what we can to reduce the loss of biodiversity at sea.

“Encountering marine wildlife is one of the great joys of seafaring and if we can assist, even in a small way, to make that more likely in the future we are pleased to be able to do that.

“Assisting turtles to return to warmer waters may not be the Royal Navy’s primary role but as a government body we are very pleased to be able to support the UK’s ambition for more healthy and diverse seas.”

The juvenile turtles, swept from the Caribbean or the Eastern Seaboard of the USA by strong winds and Atlantic currents, ended up in the cold waters around the UK, where they quickly became 'cold-stunned' and would have died if not rescued.

Five of them washed up in Cornwall and Devon and were cared for by staff at Newquay’s Blue Reef Aquarium, while the sixth turtle was nurtured by the Anglesey Sea Zoo after being found on one of the island’s beaches.

Steve Matchett, group curator for Blue Reef Aquarium, shared: "All the turtles arrived in a weakened state – in many cases we were unsure if they were going to make it overnight.

“All were dehydrated and emaciated. This is due to being too cold for a long period and being unable to feed/function properly. They have all prospered once we got them past the initial stages.

“We are very grateful to the Navy for stepping in to repatriate these rescued turtles.”