A Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel equipped as a hospital ship set sail from Britain yesterday en route to the North Atlantic and Caribbean region to support the fight against Covid-19.RFA Argus, a Primary Casualty Receiving Ship, which has two wards and up to 100 beds, including an intensive care unit and other specialist services, set sail from Her Majesty’s Naval Base, Devonport, on its mission to help the UK Overseas Territories during the coronavirus pandemic.Captain Terence Barke, the ship’s commanding officer, said: “RFA Argus’s ship’s company, consisting of both Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Royal Navy personnel, will rise to this challenge.“We understand that there are people in need in the UK Overseas Territories who require our support.”Jeremy Quinn, the Minister of State for Defence, who is responsible for the Overseas Territories, added: “The Armed Forces are taking decisive and co-ordinated action both at home and overseas to respond to the Covid-19 outbreak.“The Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary have worked hard to ensure that RFA Argus is ready for the hurricane season in the Caribbean and now also able to support the UK’s Overseas Territories during the pandemic.“The deployment of this ship is just one way the UK Government is supporting communities at home and overseas as together we face the biggest public health emergency in a generation.”The ship, which visited Bermuda in 2012, is carrying Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Royal Navy sailors and aircrew from 815 and 845 Naval Air Squadrons.A Ministry of Defence spokesman said a medical team could later join the ship to bolster the British Government’s assistance to the Overseas Territories as they battle the pandemic.Argus, which first saw service in the 1982 Falklands conflict as a flight support ship, was later fitted with a hospital for the 1991 Gulf war.She underwent a major refit in 2007 with upgraded hospital facilities, including a ramp for emergency exit for hospital trolleys and patients.The ship was at first earmarked to tie up alongside in the River Thames in London to increase the capabilities of the National Health Service in the city during the coronavirus crisis, but was later ordered south to assist the Overseas Territories.She will join HMS Medway, which is already on patrol in the region.Argus was scheduled to deploy to cover Bermuda and the Caribbean over the hurricane season and also carries emergency water and ration pack stores, as well as equipment to repair damage and clear blocked roads, in support of regional emergency services.