MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

HMS Manchester first RN vessel to dock in Havana since 1959

British ambassador Dianna Melrose: counter-narcotics and disaster relief operations in the bilateral agenda

Type 42 Destroyer HMS Manchester has become the first Royal Navy ship to make an official visit to Cuba since the country's 1959 revolution. The ship landed at the Sierra Maestra pier in Havana on Monday for the beginning of a five-day visit.

The main purpose of the visit is talks on how Cuba and the UK can work together on counter-narcotics and disaster relief operations in the Caribbean.

A Cuban Navy honour guard, carrying both national flags, greeted the ship, and a band played both countries' national anthems.

Cuban navy chief Rear Admiral Carlos Alfonso Duque Ramos and British ambassador to Cuba Dianna Melrose were welcomed aboard HMS Manchester by Commander Rex Cox. The group then visited Cuba's Armed Forces Ministry.

HMS Manchester has been engaged in counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean for the last six months, and has seized considerable quantities from traffickers it has intercepted.

A US Coast Guard contingent aboard HMS Manchester to prosecute smugglers caught in the Caribbean is understood to have been allowed to take shore leave on Cuba.