The UK’s Royal Navy no longer has any warships in the Arabian Gulf, despite the looming prospect of war with Iran.
HMS Lancaster, Britain’s last frigate in the region, left late last year, while the UK's sole remaining minesweeper, HMS Middleton, is under orders to leave in March.
A serving Royal Navy officer told The National that it was “symptomatic of decades of under-investment” that one of the world’s major fleets could not sustain a Gulf presence.
For the first time since 1980 there will be no British warship in the Gulf when HMS Middleton leaves Bahrain, just as two US carrier strike groups prepare for operations against Iran in the region.
Navy sources confirmed to The National there are no plans to replace the ship, although there is a suggestion that a Type-45 destroyer could deploy in the event of conflict.
However, the Middleton will be replaced by a British drone minesweeper that can track and identify undersea threats in the Gulf.
Royal Navy motor boat Harrier could ultimately replace manned mine countermeasure vessels, with the ability to tow a sonar behind it scouting for mines on the seabed while alerting other ships at sea and headquarters ashore.
'Blind eye'
The situation is blamed largely on the navy’s escort fleet being badly depleted to hit a new low, with only six destroyers and seven frigates, plus two aircraft carriers.
“This problem has been decades in the making and it was always going to come to a head around now,” said former Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe. “It’s deeply unfortunate that it coincided with the largest period of instability in the region in recent times, with the possibly of another war getting ever closer.”
Defence sources told The National that despite promises of more cash this had yet to be “uncorked” by the Treasury. Mr Sharpe accused the government of “not doing anything like as much as they should to even slow the decline, much less reverse it”.
The serving navy officer added that successive governments had been warned about underfunding but “have chosen to turn a blind eye”.
“How is it possible that one of the leading blue water navies is not capable of maintaining a permanent ship in one of the most volatile places where there's been a sustained UK national interest for hundreds of years?” he asked.
In a sign of the low morale among Britain’s armed forces, another officer said: “The reality is, like much of defence, the navy has been hollowed out with three decades of disinvestment and nobody is actually building us new frigates.”
But it is hoped that by 2030 the situation will change when the new Type 26 and Type 31 frigates become operational.
The withdrawal is also probably a consequence of US President Donald Trump’s demand for greater security in the High North. Britain announced this month that one of its aircraft carriers would deploy to the Arctic, which will also need frigate and destroyer escorts.
Trainers not sailors
Vice Admiral Steve Moorhouse, commander of the Royal Navy fleet, defended the Middle East decision, saying the Gulf states preferred training over a warship presence.
“When you look at what we’re offering now into the Middle East, it’s a more modern offer for what the regional partners want,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
While he admitted that the withdrawal was down to the navy’s low numbers, he said Middle East allies were more interested in anti-piracy training and tackling sea mines.
Britain is in command of an outfit called Combined Task Force 151, which deals with counter-piracy and maritime security across the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin, a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said.
The UK's Maritime Component Command headquarters in Bahrain continues “to be central to our military operations across the Middle East”, she added. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to promoting stability and peace in the Middle East by working closely with our allies.”
