HMS Spey and HMS Tamar will be based in the Indo-Pacific region, sailing for their long-term deployment later this year.
As announced in the Integrated Review of Defence, Security and Foreign Policy earlier in the year, the UK has committed to a more persistent presence in the Indo-Pacific.
According to a Ministry of Defence news release on the matter:
“Following on from the strike group’s inaugural deployment, the UK will permanently assign two Offshore Patrol Vessels to the region from later this year as well as contributing a Littoral Response Group (LRG) in the coming years. HMS Spey and HMS Tamar will deploy to the Indo-Pacific at the end of August 2021 and will be supported by partners during their operations, including Australia, Japan and Singapore.”
https://twitter.com/hms_tamar/status/1397462509603364864
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:
“As we witness a tilt in power towards the Indo-Pacific region, we are committed to working with our partners here to defend democratic values, tackle shared threats and keep our nations safe.”
https://twitter.com/WO1MickTurnbull/status/1417149009576316930
Well that’s the Navy sorted for cushy postings, I wonder exactly where they will be based. Brunei?
True, lol.
Singapore surely. The MoD only owns a small logistics and refuelling wharf but i image it’s perfectly capable of supporting a couple of OPV’s – especially as they will be deployed across the Indo-Pacific and call in at other friendly ports in between longer maintenance breaks.
The UK’s only garrison in the region is in Brunei https://www.army.mod.uk/deployments/brunei/ The positioning of the Ships would no doubt be given the seal of approval by the Sultan. (he has strong links with the British military(I’m pretty sure when I played cricket at RAF Cranwell the lavish club house had been funded by the Sultan, Just for the record I can’t stand cricket , but as a young S/Sgt posted to a unit somebody presumed that due to my skin colour I could play cricket. I can’t) And then there is the potential for future arms sales. Which I suspect… Read more »
Sembawang Naval Base is UK facility in Singapore. It actually makes a profit for UK by supplying fuel to visiting ships.
That’s a blast from the past. One of the first exercises I did in the army was Singapore/Malaysia. They gave us a empty married quarter overlooking Sembawang to use as a storage facility while us troops were quarted in Terror Barracks. If I remember rightly the USS Constellation was just off shore at the time.
Actually I think you will find the USS Costellation was docked along side for a few days.
Yeah i thought that had already been confirmed as Spore?
Would be the choice posting of the navy, surely – Great city, 1000s of miles away from any brass, small ship so a bit more relaxed, while all the pole climbers will be itching to get on board the CSG!
Yes, the Sgt Bilko in me would relish this posting a lot!
Nobody mention Cyprus !
Diego Garcia possibly? Does say Indo/Pacific.
Gareth wrote:
Diego Garcia possibly?
There is that, but it is 2249 miles from DG to Singapore as the crow flies and 2549 via the Malacca straits. The distance from Darwin is actually shorter by around 400 miles. But where ever the MOD picks, just hope they spend enough money on building the right amenities for the lads, lasses and families who will be based there
Another version of the China Fleet Club?
I wonder where that money went after it was sold in Hong Kong and built back here as a private company.
I believe at least some of the money got disted around the various bases for ‘facilities’, the pavilion at Rosyth’s playing fields was funded from money from the HK loot. Its no longer in the hands of the RN but its heavily used by locals after being leased to the council (and then passed on to a community project) for a fairly nominal fee.
China fleet club was moved to just over the Tamar Bridge near Plymouth, now a large golf club and all that goes with it.
I am aware of that, the point is, all of the money made selling the previous facility somehow made its way from the Hong Kong club into a private company.
From a quick Internet search, when it was sold, there was £11,000,000 in the coffers.
I cannot see much of that being used for the good of naval personnel, support staff and their dependants.
Some one has ‘made out like a bandit’ as they say.
And 2270 miles from Mombasa, Kenya. A small flight of Poseidon P8s with AShM based there would control a big piece of the Indian Ocean.
Having some nice rotations can only increase retention and be a bit more exciting for the new recruits.
If it is part of the positive thinking then great.
Bit better than “Join the Navy see the Atlantic/North Sea”……
I imagine Singapore, but also possible that they will be roving like the Caribbean ships.
Very encouraging news. Just imagine a Pacific posting and how many lads and ladies would like to be crew members on these vessels? Good luck to all.
Will be fantastic for recruitment, though I wonder if that is the main reason for their presence other than for PR purposes, maybe promote the design itself a bit. Anti drug/smuggling maybe to cosy up with various countries especially smaller ones with limited access to such vessels.
I guess also to establish a wider network of forward support from a small start, so it can be built up later for LRG?
Besides logistical buildup it’s also perhaps a bit more subtle to start some regular port visits with an OPV or two, before pitching up with something more fighty like a task group!
If I were a young man I’d be itching to get on board, just the journey there will be amazing.
Add contributing to anti-piracy patrols and increased relationship building at the practical service-to-service level rather than just diplomatic level.
Best news for the RN recruitment teams since Hong Kong closed down. Join the Navy, see the world was it?
Absolutely!
It says Indo-Pacific so if it is the Persian Gulf they are massively under armed. If it is Singapore the ship’s companies have won the lottery of life.
Good luck to them all. Let’s sea how these littoral response groups pan out. Maybe a Bay Class or replacement thereof with a T31 with an attached RM raiding Sqn?
Your right. I think the Type 31’s are penciled in for Gulf.
Yes I’ve read that too, quite a presence then if we send all of them east and then we still have the 26s with the carrier groups and beyond that even the 32s. Good times if we can get all this going.
Yep. For anyone Navy daft this is dream come true.
This is a very good time to be Navy daft !
sorry 😀
The type 31s are to be forward deployed according to the defence command paper. It’s not clear whether they will replace or supplement the OPVs.
The LRGs will probably need something better armed than type 31.
All of this may be great for recruitment but it doesn’t leave much in home waters to counter Russia( per the DCP the greatest threat to European security.)
Understand what your saying but you have to remember Russia is a NATO problem no-one expects us to take care of them on our own. Not in N. Atlantic or Baltic.
Understand what your saying about Russia but they’re first and foremost a NATO problem. We’ll def be a big part of dealing with them but we won’t be alone. On LRG it’s quite similar we won’t be dealing with IRGC on our own either so type 31’s may be considered enough and who knows they may end up better armed than we expected. Like Type 26.
Next time I’ll wait to see if my pearls of wisdom come through ! 😀
I’d certainly cheer up if we spent the £250 m for a yacht on the type 31s
No argument from me.
1SL hinted that T31 would serve alongside B2 Rivers in the Far East.
Didn’t know that thanks.
You’re welcome. 👍
There’s already RN forces permanently fwd deployed in the gulf (though nobody ever seems to think the MCMVs stationed there are under armed). So no. They won’t be fwd deployed to the gulf.
I’m sure the Chinese navy will be really worried by 2 small pleasure craft – NOT.
Not everything is about China.
Would you prefer some 16 inch battleships? I reckon the boats could be quite effective in the South China Sea…. Not overly provocative, impartial, professionally crewed, building relations with all the like minded countries…. 2 sets of eyes and ears out there that won’t be bullied and will be able to evidence and report back to the international community what’s going on….
Agree Andrew, these vessels can be building all sorts of good will and ultimately they’re not there to start a war or stop one on their own. We could base a Carrier Group out of Singers (assuming they would let us) and it would still be outgunned if it got close to China. This is about the ‘soft power’ of supporting allies and helping out with disaster relief etc. All good stuff really, at least that’s how I see it.
Spot on both.
No, but the Chinese trawlers poaching in Philippines waters might be thrown off balance if they were to see the White Ensign sailing with the Philippines fisheries patrol.
So that is the Batch 2 all accounted for-one in the Falklands, one Gib/Med, one in Gulf and two in theFar East. The remaining Batch ones I presume to remain in the ‘Home Fleet’? Great little ships which the RN originally said they didn’t want! What would we do without them! 😀
Hi geoff, I think one in the Caribbean – HMS Medway – rather than the Arabian Gulf. (I’ve read a T31 will probably be deployed to the Gulf).
But I agree – OPVs are proving useful little ships – with a global reach.
Oops-my mistake-forgot the Caribbean(sp?)
“What would we do without them!”
We’d be using sparse escorts for the roles, hence the usefulness of these Rivers.
Our weather is probably matching yours for a change! 33 today in Surrey.
Hello Daniele! Boasting rights are yours-33!! Mad Dogs and Englishmen!! 😅 Here in Durban is maximum 23 degrees today but cooling to late teens over next few days but with blue skies for the next ten days and beyond.
Kind Regards
geoff
Take Montrose as an example. 4 month crew rotation between the 2 crews. When on the ship they do approx +80-90 % of the time patrolling/exercising and only short periods alongside. Usually 2x Maint periods a year of 4 weeks and they mostly coincide with crew changes. The crew live on board not ashore and during the current times cannot go anywhere ashore and when they can they are on cinderella leave anyway. Having a known 3-4 month stint at home in the UK at a known interval is the big thing for the crew. Unfortunately living it up in… Read more »
You would think they would be based in Singapore, due to the wharf (Remnant of the old naval base there)
After all the talk of these ships being unwanted the RN could actually do with a few more if we are going to be forward basing them. Possibly slightly extended versions with a hangar.
I would like to see another ship based in Gib. One for the Med and one for Gulf of Guinea. Maybe a T31 or a Littoral RFA would be better for the Gulf but absent a ‘Ranger’ regiment agreement with Nigeria, Ghana or Sierra Leone we need to be able to influence Boko Haram from the sea.
I”m guessing one to pair up with a Bay to make a littoral support group for the typhoon season and one to give moral support to the Philippines fisheries patrol.
Make the Chinese trawlers think twice before they steal someone else’s fish.
I doubt it. If it’s a large flotilla, they are normally escorted by one of their Coastguard vessels. These have been videoed ramming other Nations trawlers and coastguard vessels (sank a Vietnamese Navy vessel), including warning shots over the bows. The last time a collision happened, the Philippine Foreign Minister told the Chinese to basically f*** o** out of our waters or else. As time goes on it will get worse, as there only a finite amount of fish stocks and the Chinese are renowned for depopulating fishing areas. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia rely on the fish in… Read more »
Might not be a good look for the ‘Bully boy’ UK to be ‘white Knighting’ in the SCS. We could be gathering evidence though.
Let’s be clear. It’s not the UK who is doing the bullying. Quite often all you have to do to embolden a victim to stand up against a bully is just to be there. By making the effort to be present you give the victim confidence that he is in the right and he finds extra courage to stand his ground. Shame is a powerful motivator for the Chinese. They are exercising a lot of influence on Africa and elsewhere by offering cheap money and being Mr Nice Guy. Two faced behaviour. A RN presence in SCS exercises influence by… Read more »
Isn’t this just an expansion on what I said ??
Yes, China have been the badduns here but it would be easy for them to put a spin on (in this case the UK) a country sending ‘gun boats’ half way round the world to get involved in an issue that has nothing to do with them.
I’m not saying I think that’s right but to put it another way, we would have been a tad miffed if Chinese ‘gun boats’ had turned up at the Channel islands when we had our recent spat with French fishermen.
Ah, ok. Sorry I misunderstood where you were coming from. Not sure the UK France post Brexit spat is comparable. The Chinese fishing behaviour is systemic and global poaching.
Pacific gigs … so there could be a place for another aircraft carrier of some sort.
Looks like they holding back where the ships will be forward based for a future announcement. Perhaps by Boris in October when visiting QE alongside in Singapore, prior to the start of Exercise Bersama Lima 2021. RAF Typhoons are flying out for the exercise, and Aviation website Alert 5 says:“The British government had earlier announced that the Carrier Strike Group will be participating in the same exercise as well. This marks the second time that a RAF contingent is joining a British aircraft carrier for the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) exercise, usually carried out off Peninsular Malaysia in the South China… Read more »
I was just reminiscing China fleet club,Stonecutters Island And Jennys Side party painter’s should of told China to Rotate and swiffle in 97 .if the Navy is to return Singers would be OK for the duty free run ashore with crew rotation every 6-9 months Brunei could the logistics already in place guarded by the gurkas and the hush,hush boys are always doing their jungle training there ,a draft like that is one to tell your kids
Can someone explain to me what use a opv is in enforcing sea routes in the Pacific?, surly a more weapons capable ship is needed?
No one is shooting at each other? Just need a ship to sail the route to prove freedom of movement.
To upset a country we might need as a trading partner.
Great plan
What? Is it April 1st?
We’re short of ships. How do we suddenly have 2 spare ships?
This is nothing more than a nationalistic attempt to pretend our status in the world is greater than it is.
Why all that way, wouldn’t they be better deployed in the channel pushing the illegal scrounges back to France, just asking
I thought the same but then realised that the more vessels we have in the channel, whether border force or RN, the more ” rescues” would be carried out bringing even greater numbers to our shores. What is needed is the determination to prevent illegal entry from a safe country by force.