Six rare turtles have been returned to their original Atlantic habitat thanks to the Royal Navy, writes SWNS reporter Dean Murray.

It has linked up with two marine life organisations to deliver half a dozen loggerhead turtles to warmer waters after the creatures were washed up on the UK shores and nurtured back to health.

Crew of HMS Medway released the vulnerable creatures off the Azores as the patrol ship heads towards the Caribbean.

The juvenile turtles were swept from the Caribbean or Eastern Seaboard of the USA by strong winds and Atlantic currents.

Once in the cold waters around they UK they quickly become ‘cold-stunned’ and would have died had they not been washed up and rescued.

Five came ashore in Cornwall and Devon and have been cared for since by staff at Newquay’s Blue Reef Aquarium, while the sixth creature has been nurtured by folk at Anglesey Sea Zoo having been found on one of the island’s beaches.

Medway sailed from Plymouth last week to relieve her sister ship HMS Trent, supporting international counter-drug smuggling operations across the Americas, and assisting island communities should they be ravaged by storms during the hurricane season.

Alongside her regular cargo of food supplies, spare parts for machinery, disaster relief/aid kits Medway, the Portsmouth-based ship also loaded Jason, Gordon, Perran, Hayle, Holly and Tonni – six loggerhead turtles cared for by aquariums in Cornwall and Anglesey.

With the creatures now sufficiently developed, the time had come to ‘repatriate’ them – but they had to be returned to their warm, native waters, which meant a delicate mission.

With HMS Medway due to head to the Caribbean on deployment, the Royal Navy offered to help out.

The creatures were gently dropped into the Atlantic off the Azores, swimming past Medway’s crew who had gathered on the flight deck to watch the repatriation.

“As professional mariners, many of us are keen to do what we can to reduce the loss of biodiversity at sea,” said Rod Jones, the Royal Navy’s senior maritime environmental protection adviser.

“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.”

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

“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.”