The United Kingdom is planning an ambitious joint operation with European partners to help secure shipping through the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz even though it might not have the ships needed.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced the plan Monday, three days after Iran’s naval forces seized a U.K.-flagged tanker in the strait. The incident has stoked fear that Iranian threats could cause a spike in oil prices and shipping insurance.
“We will now seek to put together a European-led maritime mission,” Hunt told the House of Commons two days before he was replaced in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cabinet. France, Italy, and Denmark have reportedly expressed support for the plan.
On average, each day 14 oil tankers transit to or from the Persian Gulf through the strait carrying 17 million barrels of oil, about a third of the world’s sea-traded oil and a fifth of oil traded across the globe.
The Royal Navy is already involved in a security mission in the strait known as Operation Kipion, which includes the HMS Montrose frigate and four mine hunter vessels. The HMS Duncan destroyer is on its way to the region to join the operation, while the HMS Kent frigate and RFA Wave Knight will join in September.
While the exact number of British-flagged vessels in the Persian Gulf varies, it is likely that a larger naval presence will be required to safeguard European shipping. The problem for the Royal Navy is that it may not have extra ships to send.
Nearly half the Royal Navy’s frigates and destroyers, the ships commonly used in escort missions, are not available due to long-term repairs, The Times of London reports.
The Royal Navy operates six destroyers, including the Duncan. Three are undergoing scheduled maintenance, preventing them from being deployed. With the Duncan on its way to the strait, that leaves two available.
Of the Royal Navy’s 13 active frigates, 3 are undergoing maintenance. With the Montrose in the region and the Kent on the way, that leaves eight available.
“We’ve got 19 escorts: 6 destroyers and 13 frigates. Out of those at any given time, only really 12 are available for operation,” said Alan West, former first sea lord, adding, “that is disgraceful.”
Should the Royal Navy choose to mobilize and reassign its remaining vessels, it could take weeks at best for a force to get to the region, according to Alexander Clarke, a naval historian, but this does not mean it would be an impossible task. The Royal Navy has River-class Batch 2 ships and the French have an equivalent model built with forward-basing in mind, said Clarke.
“[B]ut short to medium term, it’s going to require gaping on other missions,” Clarke told the Washington Examiner. “If it goes to long term, then it could well be necessary to build more ships.”
The Royal Navy has a rich history and was once the dominant force on the waves, but its capabilities began to dwindle after World War II and into the Cold War. It had more than 50 frigates and destroyers in the 1980s, with the number sharply decreasing since it had 30 in 2005.
“Cold War ‘peace dividend’ treasuries have increasingly pushed for ships to be built for the regular tasks,” Clarke said. “That means there are no vessels to spare to deal with either maintenance delays or unforeseen circumstances.”
Despite the cuts, the Royal Navy “remains in the front rank of the world’s navies,” according to advocacy group Save the Royal Navy, particularly in the areas of anti-submarine and mine operations. That said, the group is deeply concerned about the limited number of escort ships, which it says is “totally inadequate even for the RN’s routine tasks and allows no contingency to replace combat losses, breakdowns or the unexpected.”
There are initiatives that will add to the Royal Navy’s surface fleet in the near future. Two new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers are on the way, along with two City-class frigates scheduled for delivery in the mid-2020s.
Clarke said he expects Iran to continue to pose a threat to British tankers.
