The Royal Navy has supported a French-led operation targeting a sanctioned Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean, providing tracking and intelligence gathering, the Royal Navy stated.
HMS Cutlass, a fast patrol vessel from the Gibraltar Squadron, was tasked with monitoring the tanker MV Deyna, reporting on its movements and capturing imagery to assist French forces conducting the interception and boarding. The vessel is subject to UK and EU sanctions linked to the transport of illicit oil, according to the Royal Navy.
The deployment marks the second time in 2026 that the Gibraltar Squadron has supported such an operation, following a similar mission in January involving the tanker Grinch. The activity forms part of wider efforts to monitor and disrupt vessels associated with Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”.
Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Davies, Commanding Officer of the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron, said: “This is the second monitoring mission the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron has conducted in direct support of our NATO allies in 2026. It is hugely important to the United Kingdom’s and our partners’ security that we maintain a presence in the region and make full use of our strategic location — reassuring both Gibraltarians and our allies that we remain firmly committed to ensuring maritime security.”
Defence Secretary John Healey said: “I am proud of the support our UK Armed Forces provided to this French operation. Disrupting, deterring and degrading Russia’s shadow fleet and starving Putin’s war machine of funds is a priority for this government and we will continue to take action alongside our allies.”
So how are we Dividing up the Oil…? 😀 80/20?
Shows just how effective bots like HMS Cutlass are when you have naval facilities and marines in helicopters to back them up. A £5 million speed boat with three machine guns can do most of what’s needed to board a ship when a 4,000 tonne coats guard cutter can do nothing more than follow a tanker for two weeks waiting for a helicopter boarding team to reach them.
Smaller cheaper boats may be the best way to reestablish a full time UK presence in the Gulf post war.
Hmme well they are great until you need to do something kinetic or a higher sea state is experienced……
The issue then is if someone decides to shoot back a GRP hull doesn’t offer much protection compared to a 30mm steel hull. So you could end up deploying lots of smaller patrol boats like this for ‘the risk assessment’ to suddenly become ‘cant use them in this situation’.
Basically it is all fine until it isn’t fine. In an increasingly unstable world where people are doing crazier and crazier things Mad Vlad -> Mad Mullahs -> Tangerine King we do need proper sized warships that can put a bit of fear into the crazier elements of something very unpleasant coming back their way.