The UK is to send a second warship to the Gulf, in response to rising tensions in the Middle East.
HMS Diamond – a Type 45 destroyer – is en route to join the frigate HMS Lancaster.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said it was “critical that the UK bolsters our presence in the region”.
In addition, a UK-led task force is to soon begin patrols from the English Channel to the Baltic Sea, to protect Europe’s critical undersea cables.
HMS Lancaster has been stationed in the Gulf since last year. It is there alongside three Royal Navy minehunters.
Mr Shapps said the addition of a destroyer would bolster deterrence in the region at a dangerous time.
“It is critical that the UK bolsters our presence in the region to keep Britain and our interests safe from a more volatile and contested world.”
Specifically, he said, it would send a clear message to Iran and its proxies. Israel’s war in Gaza has already prompted a response from Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as Houthi rebels in Yemen – although not yet on the scale first feared.
The US boosted its naval footprint in the region soon after the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October. It has sent a US carrier strike group east of Suez, as well as placing a second aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean.
A US destroyer in the Red Sea has already intercepted missiles and drones – reported to have been launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Houthis have also been harassing commercial shipping in the region – seizing the cargo vessel MV Galaxy Leader and attempting to hijack a second.
The Ministry of Defence says the addition of HMS Diamond will ensure the freedom of navigation, reassure merchant vessels and allow the safe flow of trade. Around 50 large merchant ships pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait daily while double that number pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The defence secretary also announced a second major naval deployment, closer to home, to protect undersea cables and critical national infrastructure.
The task force of seven ships will set sail early next month, alongside allies, and will mount patrols from the English Channel all the way to the Baltic Sea.
Royal Navy vessels will work alongside members of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Though they’ve conducted exercises together in the past this will be the first time the JEF has conducted a joint operation.
Mr Shapps described the deployment as historic – with allies from across northern Europe working together “to defend our shared critical infrastructure against potential threats”.
He did not mention a specific threat. But the UK and other nations involved in the JEF have highlighted concerns about the activities of Russian surveillance ships near critical national infrastructure, including wind farms and undersea cables, in recent years.
I’m sure the enemies of Western civilization are quaking in their boots now. /s
Royal Navy warship on his way, if you wish for peace, prepare for war !!
🇬🇧🧭🇬🇧
[deleted]
Dear Shapps
You can imagine my alarm when I discovered that after having achieved nothing and made a mess of every other department that has been entrusted to you over the last 13 years, that Prime Minister Sunak decided to circulate you into this one. After all, you couldn’t even sort out ‘smart motorways’ when you were at Transport.
However, I’m writing to you out of concern regarding your decision to send a type 45 destroyer to the Gulf region. You do realise that after David Cameron cancelled the order book for these ships, that the Royal Navy only has six of them don’t you? Whereas they might have been fine for sending on goodwill visits around Caribbean there is a real danger associated with sending them to parts of the world where someone might shoot at them, and that’s assuming that they can now work in warm water?
I’m afraid its too late to build any new ones now, and you might want to reflect that your government has cancelled more orders than they have ships launched. I strongly advise that you don’t threaten to send another one, or heaven forbid, two, because we frankly haven’t got any to spare.
> The UK is to send a second warship to the Gulf, in response to rising tensions in the Middle East.
They make it sound like British ships weren’t attacked there in the last 2 months and the UK is just inserting themselves for no reason.
Why do these giant ships look like they only have 1 gun on the front
Well this looks all fine and dandy.
First Trump becomes president in the USA, then we get a global pandemic, then war breaks out after Putin loses his marbles, then Hamas commits the worst atrocity against civilian Israelis since 1945. And here we are.
It’s international waters and there are trade ships from many nations. Its not “just because” they are heading there.
OMG the British are actually doing something
That’s a gorgeous ship. I wish the Brits the best.
Shout out to sailors. Y’all. Better than me.
It’s getting spicy.
Dammit – that means we only have one left for the Falklands
14 comments
The UK is to send a second warship to the Gulf, in response to rising tensions in the Middle East.
HMS Diamond – a Type 45 destroyer – is en route to join the frigate HMS Lancaster.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said it was “critical that the UK bolsters our presence in the region”.
In addition, a UK-led task force is to soon begin patrols from the English Channel to the Baltic Sea, to protect Europe’s critical undersea cables.
HMS Lancaster has been stationed in the Gulf since last year. It is there alongside three Royal Navy minehunters.
Mr Shapps said the addition of a destroyer would bolster deterrence in the region at a dangerous time.
“It is critical that the UK bolsters our presence in the region to keep Britain and our interests safe from a more volatile and contested world.”
Specifically, he said, it would send a clear message to Iran and its proxies. Israel’s war in Gaza has already prompted a response from Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as Houthi rebels in Yemen – although not yet on the scale first feared.
The US boosted its naval footprint in the region soon after the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October. It has sent a US carrier strike group east of Suez, as well as placing a second aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean.
A US destroyer in the Red Sea has already intercepted missiles and drones – reported to have been launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Houthis have also been harassing commercial shipping in the region – seizing the cargo vessel MV Galaxy Leader and attempting to hijack a second.
The Ministry of Defence says the addition of HMS Diamond will ensure the freedom of navigation, reassure merchant vessels and allow the safe flow of trade. Around 50 large merchant ships pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait daily while double that number pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The defence secretary also announced a second major naval deployment, closer to home, to protect undersea cables and critical national infrastructure.
The task force of seven ships will set sail early next month, alongside allies, and will mount patrols from the English Channel all the way to the Baltic Sea.
Royal Navy vessels will work alongside members of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Though they’ve conducted exercises together in the past this will be the first time the JEF has conducted a joint operation.
Mr Shapps described the deployment as historic – with allies from across northern Europe working together “to defend our shared critical infrastructure against potential threats”.
He did not mention a specific threat. But the UK and other nations involved in the JEF have highlighted concerns about the activities of Russian surveillance ships near critical national infrastructure, including wind farms and undersea cables, in recent years.
I’m sure the enemies of Western civilization are quaking in their boots now. /s
Royal Navy warship on his way, if you wish for peace, prepare for war !!
🇬🇧🧭🇬🇧
[deleted]
Dear Shapps
You can imagine my alarm when I discovered that after having achieved nothing and made a mess of every other department that has been entrusted to you over the last 13 years, that Prime Minister Sunak decided to circulate you into this one. After all, you couldn’t even sort out ‘smart motorways’ when you were at Transport.
However, I’m writing to you out of concern regarding your decision to send a type 45 destroyer to the Gulf region. You do realise that after David Cameron cancelled the order book for these ships, that the Royal Navy only has six of them don’t you? Whereas they might have been fine for sending on goodwill visits around Caribbean there is a real danger associated with sending them to parts of the world where someone might shoot at them, and that’s assuming that they can now work in warm water?
I’m afraid its too late to build any new ones now, and you might want to reflect that your government has cancelled more orders than they have ships launched. I strongly advise that you don’t threaten to send another one, or heaven forbid, two, because we frankly haven’t got any to spare.
> The UK is to send a second warship to the Gulf, in response to rising tensions in the Middle East.
They make it sound like British ships weren’t attacked there in the last 2 months and the UK is just inserting themselves for no reason.
Why do these giant ships look like they only have 1 gun on the front
Well this looks all fine and dandy.
First Trump becomes president in the USA, then we get a global pandemic, then war breaks out after Putin loses his marbles, then Hamas commits the worst atrocity against civilian Israelis since 1945. And here we are.
It’s international waters and there are trade ships from many nations. Its not “just because” they are heading there.
OMG the British are actually doing something
That’s a gorgeous ship. I wish the Brits the best.
Shout out to sailors. Y’all. Better than me.
It’s getting spicy.
Dammit – that means we only have one left for the Falklands