The Mexeflote is a landing raft used by the United Kingdom's Royal Logistic Corps and the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

to move goods and vehicles between ship and shore. It was first used by British military in the 1960s. It was used during the Falklands conflict, and has been used in humanitarian aid missions. The system is very similar to the

Rhino ferry A rhino ferry is a barge constructed from several pontoons which are connected and equipped with outboard engines, used to transport heavy equipment and people. Rhino ferries were used extensively during the Normandy landings and other theaters ...

History

The Mexeflote was introduced to the UK military in the 1960s, and it subsequently saw service in the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

, in which three units were used, including in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, where they were used in loading the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

and

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

ships going to the Falklands. Mexeflotes were used as causeways between ships in the open ocean, stores were driven between ships over a mexeflote causeway with Fiat Allis forklifts. Sgt Boultby of 17 Port Regiment, RCT was awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

 for using his Mexeflote to rescue survivors at

Bluff Cove Bluff Cove ( es, Bahia Agradable or ) is a sea inlet and settlement on East Falkland, in the Falkland Islands, on its east coast. It was the site of secondary landings of the Falklands War of 1982, which resulted in a successful attack of the ...

. In 1994, the Army ordered an additional 50 units, and in 2000 they upgraded 60 of the rafts. The Mexeflote was used during the

2010 Haiti earthquake A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...

, to transport supplies to the remote Haitian village of

Anse-à-Veau Anse-à-Veau ( ht, Ansavo) is a commune in the Anse-à-Veau Arrondissement, in the Nippes department of Haiti. The postal code is HT 7510. In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Anse-a-Veau was swollen by refugees from the afflicted are ...

from . Currently the rafts are crewed by the Royal Logistic Corps and they are largely used by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's Bay class landing ships. As part of the Royal Australian Navy's acquisition of the Bay class ship RFA ''Largs Bay'' (renamed for Australian service), two Mexeflotes were also acquired.* File:HMAS Choules mexeflote.jpg, A Mexeflote suspended from the starboard flank of File:UK task group links up with Italian carrier in last act of autumn deployment MOD 45167525.jpg, with a Mexeflote on its port side File:Mexeflote transporting disaster relief teams ashore from RFA Lyme Bay, seen in the background. MOD 45159804.jpg, Mexeflote transporting disaster relief teams ashore from RFA ''Lyme Bay'' File:UK Royal Logistics Corps Mexflote arrives in Anguilla.jpg, Royal Logistics Corps Mexflote arrives in Anguilla File:GRAND TURK WELCOMES BACK RFA MOUNTS BAY MOD 45164026.jpg, Mexifloat unloading on the beach at Grand Tuck with Heavy Plant for use in the rebuild after the hurricane

Design

Mexeflote is a powered raft (two diesel engines), used to move goods and vehicles between ship and shore when a pier is not available. The Mexeflote is designed in three sizes; Each version has three components; bow, stern, and centre, which can be fitted together as required, making the Mexeflote a versatile craft. The different sections allow it to be used as a raft, a floating pontoon, or as a causeway from ship to shore. Mexeflote was the basis for the design of the

Modular Elevated Causeway Broadly speaking, modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. The concept of modularity is used primarily to reduce complexity by breaking a s ...

History

Design

References

Further reading