Published on 24/05/2026 - 16:49 GMT+2

A Royal Navy patrol ship has arrived off the coast of Tristan da Cunha to deliver critical supplies and relieve a team of army specialists who parachuted onto the remote island earlier this month.

The UK Ministry of Defence announced on Sunday that the HMS Medway had arrived in the area and that it would remain there for several days, dropping off six civilian medics and retrieving the paratroopers, who have been supporting a British national suspected of contracting Hantavirus.

The Medway is the second of five Royal Navy River Class offshore patrol vessels and is used to support Britain’s overseas territories, as well as helping deliver humanitarian aid.

Specialists from the army's 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team completed a "daring" drop into Tristan da Cunha earlier in May after a British national who had been on board the Hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship reported symptoms after returning home to the island.

Tristan da Cunha, the UK's most remote inhabited overseas territory, sits deep in the South Atlantic Ocean and is normally only accessible by boat. It has a population of around 220 people.

Speaking at the time, Minister for the Armed Forces Al Carns called it an "extraordinary operation" and paid "huge tribute" to those involved.

Dramatic footage of the mission shared by the MOD showed the soldiers leaping out of a military transport aircraft and opening their parachutes above the island.