ABOARD THE RFA LYME BAY (AP) — Positioned off Gibraltar’s coastline, the RFA Lyme Bay stands ready, with a full contingent of British sailors poised for a potential mine-clearing mission in the Strait of Hormuz, though its commencement remains uncertain.
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized allies for their lack of support in the U.S. initiative against Iran, whose control over the strategic strait has significantly disrupted global shipping routes and driven up energy costs. Trump, in March, urged NATO partners to independently secure their oil supplies and manage the strait’s security themselves.
In Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory situated at the southern extremity of the Iberian Peninsula, the U.K. Royal Navy is gearing up for action, contingent upon the finalization of a peace accord. According to Trump, a tentative agreement with Iran has been reached following discussions with Israel and other regional partners, though details are still being ironed out.
During a recent visit to the RFA Lyme Bay, Britain’s Armed Forces Minister, Al Carns, escorted a select group of journalists to observe preparations for a possible multinational mission spearheaded by the U.K. and France to secure the strait. The amphibious vessel, stationed at the entrance to the Mediterranean, was in the midst of being outfitted with ammunition and sonar-equipped mine-hunting sea drones.
The RFA Lyme Bay, manned by a crew of several hundred, is set to leave Gibraltar shortly. It will rendezvous with the U.K. destroyer HMS Dragon and other allied vessels for air cover, before navigating through the Suez Canal en route to the Persian Gulf.
After the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, Tehran retaliated by effectively closing the strait, a key waterway for the region’s oil, natural gas and fertilizer, causing global economic pain. The U.K. in particular has drawn the ire of Trump, who has described Britain’s navy as “toys” and Prime Minister Keir Starmer as “not Winston Churchill.”
At least 6,000 ships have been blocked from passing through the strait since the conflict began, Carns said.
There could be a range of threats from Iran’s mines
Iran could have a “huge” variety of mines throughout strait, said Cmdr. Gemma Britton, who is in charge of the Royal Navy’s Mine and Threat Exploitation Group. Mines could be rocket-propelled, cabled or sit on the seabed and be triggered by sound, movement or light.
AP was shown autonomous systems that can scan the seabed and the water with sonar in about half the time it takes for a crewed vessel to enter and map potential dangers. The sea drones equipped with sonar produce a picture of objects under the water, from fishing traps to pipelines. The picture is used to identify mines that can be explored with advanced acoustic systems and cameras, Britton said.
Some of the systems on the RFA Lyme Bay can be loaded onto a smaller vessel that can be launched and piloted autonomously from the ship, which acts as a mother ship, waiting outside any potential minefield, Britton said. That reduces the number of people needed to enter, she said.
Once a mine has been located, a diver with explosives normally places a charge on the mine before swimming away to detonate it. But RFA Lyme Bay is trialing a remotely operated vehicle that dives and drops a charge by a mine before setting it off, Britton said.
The priority, she said, will be to clear a transit lane in the strait to allow around 700 ships to leave. A lane flowing in the opposite direction will then be cleared, allowing ships to enter, she said, but added that clearing the entire strait could take months or years.
It’s still not clear if the UK and its allies will be deployed
It’s still not clear if any mines are in the strait — or if the U.K. and its allies will be deploying to remove them.
When asked by AP if the British effort was partly for show, to curry favor with the U.S., Carns said he was sure some mines had been blown up or floated away but that assurance is not good enough for commercial insurance companies. He said those companies need “absolute certainty” to get vessels traveling through the strait again.
“That’s what this capability will provide,” he said.
The international effort to secure the strait would happen only once hostilities are over.
“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump said Saturday on social media, with no details on timing.
This is not the first time in recent weeks that a deal has been described as close.
“We don’t know when the Americans, Iranians and Israelis are going to come up with a suitable solution,” Carns said.
In the meantime, the RFA Lyme Bay and its crew will be waiting and will be “really, really ready,” Carns said.
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