HMS Defender has been re-routed from a previous mission in the Pacific
HMS Montrose
Latest in HMS Montrose
Boris Johnson
UK to join US in coalition to protect ships in Gulf waters
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has spoken to allies around the world to encourage them to join the mission to safeguard a key chokepoint for oil
Bahrain
Bahrain hosts maritime security summit amid Iran tensions
Gulf kingdom, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, says meeting plans to discuss the ‘current regional situation and to strengthen cooperation’
Gulf of Oman
Warship commander says Iran trying ‘to test’ Britain in Gulf
William King, commander of HMS Montrose, says he had 85 interactions with Iranian forces while patrolling Gulf waters
British commercial vessels
UK deploys Destroyer to protect shipping in Strait of Hormuz
The frigate, HMS Duncan, will operate alongside the Royal Navy’s HMS Montrose Type 23 to shepherd British-flagged ships through the strait
British government
UK to send third Royal Navy warship to Gulf
Britain has already sent the HMS Duncan, an air defence destroyer, to cover for frigate HMS Montrose while it undergoes maintenance in nearby Bahrain
cost of shipping
UK says sending second warship to Gulf as tensions rise
Britain’s move comes after government designates the Gulf region a level-3 risk for ships, the highest possible threat level