2nd UK warship for Gulf as tensions rise

ONE of Britain’s deadliest warships is to set sail early for the Gulf amid escalating tensions with Iran.

HMS Duncan, a Type 45 destroyer, is being diverted sooner than expected from the Black Sea over fears of another Iranian attempt to target a British ship.

On Wednesday, the smaller Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose drove off Iranian gunboats as they closed in on the supertanker British Heritage in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tensions first rose when a sanctions-busting Iranian tanker was seized off Gibraltar in an operation involving Royal Marines. The powerful Duncan will briefly work in tandem with Montrose in the Gulf until the frigate undergoes planned maintenance and crew changes, the Government has confirmed.

A spokeswoman said: “This will ensure the UK, alongside international partners, can continue to support freedom of navigation for vessels transiting through this vital shipping lane.” Montrose had been forced to act against three patrol boats in the strait as they attempted to “impede” the passage of Bp-operated British Heritage.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which is thought to have been operating the boats, denied the incident.

Gibraltar’s police arrested the captain and chief officer of Iranian tanker Grace 1, which was detained last Thursday. That prompted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi to demand the release of the vessel.

He said: “The documents and evidence and the contradictory remarks made by the British all indicate that London’s allegation, legally speaking, is not that significant and noteworthy – unless they would want to enter into a dangerous game under the influence of the Americans with no end in sight.”

DETAINED The Iranian supertanker, Grace 1 THE Type 45 warship is a guided missile destroyer and one of our deadliest vessels. The ship, with a crew of 280 and based at Portsmouth, has provided air defence for France’s FS Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. She was the first of our Type 45s to be armed with Harpoon anti-ship missiles and can detect a tennis ball-sized object moving at three times the speed of sound from 100 miles away.