Britain failed to safeguard Gulf ships, say former chiefs

BRITISH ministers failed in allowing merchant ships to continue sailing through the Gulf when the nearest Royal Navy escort was an hour away, former defence chiefs said yesterday.

General Lord Dannatt, former Chief of the General Staff, said it was surprising that measures had not been taken to protect British shipping in the face of threats by the Iranians to retaliate over the impounding of one of their ships in Gibraltar.

Since the seizure of the Britishflagged Stena Impero by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Friday, ministers are facing questions about the decision to seize the Iranian Grace 1 supertanker off Gibraltar on

July 4 without ensuring protection for British-owned shipping in the Straits of Hormuz.

The UK had sent an extra Navy ship to protect Britishflagged tankers travelling through the Gulf last weekend after “specific” threats from Iran. But it has now emerged that HMS Montrose, a Type23 frigate dispatched on Friday to help the Stena Impero, was an hour away from it, by which time it had already been diverted into Iranian waters by Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

Lord Dannatt told The Sunday Telegraph: “It would have been prudent to marshal our resources in the area to prevent our shipping being seized. We failed. It was known that the Iranians would try to seize a British ship, and it would have been wise to ensure none were in danger. It’s perfectly possible to come up with an escort for ships through the straits.”

Lord West, the former 1st Sea Lord, said it had been “foolhardy” and “unacceptable”, for UK shipping to transit the area without a Royal Navy escort.

“It was very stupid of us to allow a merchant ship to go through those waters before HMS Montrose was close enough to look after her,” he added.

“As soon as we seized Grace 1 we should have been aware the Iranians would retaliate.

“We should have instituted protection measures for the control of merchant shipping and said to the Stena Impero to wait in port until we could escort you through the straits with one or two warships.”

Both Lord West and Lord Dannatt urged ministers to make efforts to assemble a coalition of allies to provide protection for merchant vessels in the Gulf, something that already appears to have been rejected in Whitehall.

“It needs an international response to look after merchant shipping,” said Lord West.

Between 15 and 30 British-flagged tankers pass through the strait every day, with only seven Royal Navy vessels, accompanied by Royal Marines, for force protection in the Gulf.

Shortly before the Stena Impero was seized, the MoD released a statement about the Navy presence in the area.

It said: “Since 1980, units of both the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary have maintained a presence in the Gulf 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

“We have approximately 1,200 UK personnel deployed, and are committed to de-escalation in the Gulf and maintaining free navigation through the region. The UK regularly reviews the number of RN and RFA vessels in the region.”

‘It was very stupid to let a merchant ship go through those waters before HMS Montrose was close enough to look after her’