Evacuation of UK citizens with the Royal Navy turns a flop

(BRUSSELS2) Too little, too late, ill-conceived... We can thus sum up the British plan aimed at requisitioning the means of the Royal Navy to evacuate its fellow citizens stranded on the continent, in France or in Spain, because of the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjöll and the grounding of air transport.

Plan announced Monday by the government (read: Royal Navy to the rescue of stranded passengers). The operation, which was intended to be a replica of the evacuation of civilians from Beirut in 2006, or even that of the British soldiers in Dunkirk in 1940, flopped... according to the British press, not stingy with symbols and which recounts this 'epic ' (read The Telegraph and also The Guardian).

L'HMS Ocean which was to go to Calais diverted to Cherbourg. We realized - too late - that it was too big to bring them into the port. As for the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, who left a naval exercise near Scotland, he is still waiting in the south of England and should eventually head for another exercise, NATO in the Atlantic.

Only the landing ship HMS Albion (L-14) reached Santander (Spain) and embarked alongside the 440 soldiers who had returned from Afghanistan, and stuck in Spain, about 250 civilians. A drop of water compared to the 40.000 British citizens present or arrived in the Iberian Peninsula! The ship should reach the English coast (Plymouth) this evening (April 21) informed the Royal Navy. Without being "luxury" warned the logistics manager, Geoff Wintle. The boat is, in fact, at its maximum capacity with nearly 1200 people on board. So, we were more in the campsite: “ with sleeping bag under the stars on deck » than in the 3 stars. Corn " the food is good “, he added, specifying the menu: “ steak, fries and curry ». But in a way, it's a nice gift and good memories that should remain with the 250 guests (including several children and teenagers) of this 'unplanned cruise'.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)