The pace at which HMS Dragon has been prepared for deployment to defend a British military base in Cyprus from attacks by Iran has sparked claims that Britain’s proud naval history has been shamed.
It has been a week since the government said the Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer would be deployed, but it is still docked and the ship is likely to take another five days or more to reach its destination.
MoD sources say the efforts of those involved in making the destroyer seaworthy in that time period have been Herculean.
Defense Secretary John Healey told the House of Commons on Monday that navy crews were working “tirelessly, 22 hours a day” and that HMS Dragon would be sailing within “a couple of days”. Those involved say a process that would normally take six weeks was almost completed in six days.
Why wasn’t a Royal Navy destroyer ready to go?
According to experts, a destroyer that is in a high state of readiness can take five days or less to be ready for deployment from the dock. HMS Dragon was not in that state. This time last week, she was in dry dock undergoing scheduled repairs prior to her deployment on a NATO mission. As a result, HMS Duncan was rumored to be the ship sent to Cyprus.
Matthew Heaslip, senior lecturer in naval history at the University of Portsmouth, said it was a lack of resources that probably meant HMS Duncan needed to remain in the UK for internal defence.
“Duncan had just done some training exercises and therefore may have needed some maintenance,” he said. “But the Iran war isn’t the only thing going on in the world at the moment either, and the UK simply doesn’t have any air defense other than the Royal Air Force and some short-range missiles. The other year, when a number of dignitaries came to London, they had to put HMS Diamond in the River Thames, in theory, to provide that air defence. So if you have three of your six destroyers in deep maintenance, and you have three available, you need to have one.” which is ready to enter UK waters at any time to provide at least nominal cover.”
Why does it take so long to prepare a warship for deployment?
First of all, it was necessary to complete all scheduled repairs. As HMS Dragon was in dry dock at Portsmouth, it also had to be put back into the water, a process called undocking or refloating. Water is introduced into the dock and that process alone can take several hours.
As the water level rises, the destroyer eventually reaches a “critical point” where it begins to peel away the keel blocks that were supporting its weight. The destroyer is towed back from the dry dock. This process can take a day and should be done taking into account tidal patterns.
The ship was then sent to the Upper Harbor Munitions Facility, which is used by the Royal Navy to load missiles, ammunition and supplies onto warships. As HMS Dragon was to participate in a completely different type of mission to that initially programmed, it was necessary to modify it through significant changes to equipment and armament, a process called “re-rolling”. This was made difficult by foggy conditions.
Welding work is required to get the systems in place and operational. This included loading the Sea Viper air defense system, which is capable of simultaneously eliminating 16 missiles and drones. Ammunition had to be transported from Gosport. The ship must also carry food, fuel and other supplies. Some 80 boxes of food have been brought aboard HMS Dragon in recent days. It is estimated that all this will take five days, although sources from the Ministry of Defense said it was done in four.
Around 200 people are expected to travel on the ship. The unexpected nature of the deployment means many may have had to return from leave or training. Given the nature of the mission, there may be special forces involved and Royal Marines to deploy.
Then there is the paperwork. The ship must be certified as fit for deployment. HMS Deacon will be moved from the ammunition facility to a dock at Portsmouth Docks on Tuesday afternoon, ready to sail.
Was it a perfect operation then?
The Prospect union, which represents tugboat workers and engineers in Portsmouth, said a new contract with Serco, which provides port services for the government, had slowed down the process. It was claimed that the new routine working hours of 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday had made it difficult to mobilize staff for urgent tasks. This is denied by both the Ministry of Defense and Serco.
An MoD spokesperson said: “Staff are stepping up their efforts to support the operation and all requests that have been made to Serco to support the ship’s readiness have been met.”
Heaslip said the need to deploy HMS Dragon highlighted the difficult position deep cuts had left the navy. He said: “A lot is being asked of the Royal Navy at the moment, all of which is defensive. As much as Trump talks about Britain joining a war against Iran, we don’t have the resources at the moment to do that.”
