UK to send a second warship to the Gulf amid crisis with Iran

AKIPRESS.COM - The UK is stepping up its military presence in the Gulf by sending a second warship to the region to protect British commercial oil tankers, the Ministry of Defence has said, The Guardian reports. The HMS Duncan, a Type 45 destroyer, will be deployed within days after it completed a course of Nato exercises in the Baltic Sea with the aim to be in the Gulf region by next week.
The ship will work alongside the Royal Navy's frigate HMS Montrose and US Gulf allies, but will not participate in Washington's proposed global maritime coalition to protect shipping in the area.
HMS Duncan was due to have taken over from HMS Montrose, but for a fixed period the two ships will instead work alongside one another.
The news comes after Theresa May said she would begin talks with US authorities on increasing a transatlantic presence in the region following two sets of attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, and an attempt by Iranian navy to push a British owned oil ship towards Iranian waters.
The UK already has four mine-hunting vessels stationed in the region, and former naval commanders, including Admiral Lord West, have warned the UK only has eight frigates on patrol.
West's fears have been echoed by Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, who has renewed his call for UK spending on defence to double.