Royal Navy vessel escorts Spanish vessel from Gibraltar

The Royal Navy’s HMS Dagger has shadowed a Spanish Navy vessel, SPS Isla de León, as it departed British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

Daniel Ferro, an aviation and maritime enthusiast based in Gibraltar, posted an image on social media showing the Royal Navy’s fast patrol boat monitoring the Spanish vessel’s movements earlier.

The Royal Navy’s Gibraltar Squadron routinely conducts such escorts when Spanish state vessels enter or transit within Gibraltar’s territorial waters, maintaining what London describes as a “measured and professional” presence. HMS Dagger and her sister ship HMS Cutlass entered service in 2022 to replace the older Scimitar-class patrol craft, providing higher speed and improved endurance for sovereignty protection duties.

The Spanish Navy’s Isla de León is a Rodman 101-class patrol vessel belonging to the Maritime Action Force and based in Ceuta.

The Isla de León is one of four patrol boats in the Toralla class, alongside Toralla (P81), Formentor, and Isla Pinto. These vessels were originally used by the Galician Coastguard before being transferred to the Spanish Navy in 2022. They are designed for coastal patrol, deterrence of illegal activity, and support to civilian maritime authorities.

For its part, HMS Dagger represents the Royal Navy’s modernised approach to sovereignty protection around Gibraltar. The Cutlass-class patrol boat is capable of speeds over 40 knots and is armed for maritime security and escort duties. Since commissioning in 2022, Dagger has been called upon to escort several Spanish Navy ships deemed to have entered British waters without authorisation, including Infanta Cristina in 2023 and Rayo in 2024.

The British government does not recognise Spanish incursions into Gibraltar’s waters, which it regards as sovereign UK territory under international law. Madrid disputes this claim, considering the waters around the Rock to be part of Spanish jurisdiction. Such incidents occur periodically, reflecting the long-standing disagreement between the two nations over maritime sovereignty.