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Supporting the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in Tristan da Cunha

When severe storms hit Tristan da Cunha in July 2019, widespread damage was sustained to official buildings on this tiny and remote British Dependency in the South Atlantic. The impact of the storm needed to be surveyed so that buildings could be quickly restored.

FCDO Services rapidly mobilised to provide emergency support to the Foreign Office in the South Atlantic Ocean. Within two weeks, a Structural and Civil Engineer undertook the long journey out to Post to inspect the damage and recommend repairs.

Tristan da Cunha, lying approximately 1,500 miles off the coast of Cape Town in South Africa is not easily accessible. With no airport, the only way to get there is by boat. After flying into Cape Town, the journey took a further nine days on a South African fishing boat.

Tristan da Cunha, lying approximately 1,500 miles off the coast of Cape Town in South Africa is not easily accessible.

The work involved three key areas. Firstly, assessing structural damage to official properties and providing advice on the integrity of other structures on the island. Several buildings were affected including the Governor’s residence and Administration Building. Our engineer put together a report with recommendations for remedial repairs to be carried out by trained locals from the island.

Secondly, electrical inspections were completed on the Administrator’s Residence and the Administration Building in liaison with one of our UK-based Electrical Engineers. Our engineer supplied an electrical specification for rewiring, for the local electrician to follow, meeting best practice standards.

Finally, the servers housed in the Administration Building sustained water damage during the storm, and had to be shut down. These systems are integral to maintaining communications on the island and with the outside world. Our engineer conducted a survey to assess the vulnerability of this vital communications equipment and put forward a proposal. This piece of work will be carried out in a future project.

We look forward to returning to Tristan in the future to deliver our proposed solution to protect and future-proof the island’s communications equipment.

We worked closely with the Foreign Office Administrator at post in Tristan, and recommendations have been well received. We look forward to returning to Tristan in the future to deliver our proposed solution to protect and future-proof the island’s communications equipment.

“Our people are experts in their professional disciplines, understand the diplomatic estate and are skilled at working in challenging locations around the world. This is a striking example of how we can respond quickly and effectively to a crisis situation.” Richard Jones, Head of Professional Services Centre FCDO Services

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