Naval concerns

Iran has reacted very foolishly to the legitimate seizing of their tanker off Gibraltar. They knew it would be released but, instead, having been thwarted by frigate HMS Montrose, they seized the Stena Impero tanker in Omani waters. They then accused the UK of being “an accessory to the economic terrorism of the USA”.

This, though, was only days after the EU reiterated that they were willing to stick with the Iran 2015 nuclear deal and that “the violations were reversible and not significant”. Furthermore, the UK declined the offer for US convoy protection in the Gulf. The UK will freeze their assets at a time when the Islamic Republic’s economy is crippled by US sanctions.

It is not jingoistic to pose the question: is the Royal Navy now dangerously small? We had 609 major warships in 1914; 900 in 1944; 115 in 1982 and 64 today.(half of them are

minesweepers or smaller. Half again are undergoing routine maintenance.)

A Daring Class destroyer, HMS Duncan, is in the Gulf and narrowly avoided a bomb boat which would have dangerously escalated tensions. Another old Type 23 frigate,

HMS Kent, is en route. The problem is that there are up to 30 Britishflagged merchant ships in those waters daily.

For years critics have argued that if the navy became this diminished, then rogue states, pirates and terrorists would fill the void. Iran has a hand

ful of frigates but many fast patrol boats. The European nations were recently involved in the Baltops 19 Baltic exercises (including Royal Navy flagship HMS Albion and ten warships), and these vessels should be sent immediately to the Gulf for convoy duties.

The size of the Royal Navy is imperative when our seaborne imports are expected to rise by 287 per cent in 20 years. These incidents show that spending only 1.8 per cent of GDP annually on defence is not sustainable.

JOHN V LLOYD

Keith Place, Inverkeithing, Fife