--- title: "Royal Navy Frigate Escorts U.K. Tanker Out Of The Persian Gulf After Iranian Threats" description: "Royal Navy Frigate Escorts U.K. Tanker Out Of The Persian Gulf After Iranian Threats" date: "2019-07-09" modified: "2019-07-09" authors: - name: "Tyler Rogoway and Joseph Trevithick" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/tyler-rogoway-and-joseph-trevithick" url: "https://www.twz.com/28900/royal-navy-frigate-escorts-u-k-tanker-out-of-the-persian-gulf-after-iranian-threats" categories: - "Around The Globe" - "Iran" - "Middle East" - "Navies" - "News & Features" - "Royal Navy" - "Sea" tags: - "British Heritage" - "Escort" - "Frigates" - "Grace 1" - "Gulf of Oman" - "HMS Montrose" - "Iran" - "minehunters" - "naval mines" - "Pacific Voyager" - "persian gulf" - "Sandown-class" - "Strait of Hormuz" - "Tankers" - "Type 23" - "United Kingdom" --- # Royal Navy Frigate Escorts U.K. Tanker Out Of The Persian Gulf After Iranian Threats ![]() *www.twz.com* The U.K.-flagged tanker *Pacific Voyager* appears to have had an escort in the form of the Royal Navy's Type 23 frigate [HMS *Montrose*](), along with an unknown [*Sandown*-class minehunter](), as she sailed from the Persian Gulf through the [Strait of Hormuz]() into the Gulf of Oman today. This comes less than a week after an Iranian official [threatened the seizure]() of a British ship in retaliation for U.K. officials seizing control of the Iranian supertanker [*Grace 1*]() off the coast of Gibraltar. Online ship trackers first noticed that *Montrose*, which is forward-deployed to the region, and the minehunter were shadowing *Pacific Voyager* on July 9, 2019. The minehunter's transponder appeared to identify it as HMS *Ramsey*, but that ship is based in the United Kingdom. There are four other members of the *Sandown*-class that do operate forward-deployed in the region. *Pacific Voyager* successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz without incident later in the day. “The UK maintains a long-standing maritime presence in the Gulf," a spokesperson for the U.K. Ministry of Defense [told the *Daily Star*](), refusing to confirm or deny that any Royal Navy ships were escorting *Pacific Voyager*. "We are continuously monitoring the security situation there and are committed to maintaining freedom of navigation in accordance with international law." https://twitter.com/\_/status/1148592372827250689 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1148594019477479429 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1148653921646338049 The United Kingdom is a contributor to the U.S. Navy-led [Combined Task Force 150](), which is based in Bahrain and helps ensure freedom of navigation in waterways throughout the Middle East and guards commercial shipping in the region against terrorist attacks and piracy. The U.K. military has dubbed its maritime contributions in the region as [Operation Kipion](). The apparent escort the *Pacific Voyager* follows a [threat from Mohsen Rezaei](), who is presently the Secretary of Iran's powerful Expediency Discernment Council, an advisory body to the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to seize a British ship in response to U.K. authorities boarding and taking control of Iran's *Grace 1* [over apparent sanctions violations](). That incident occurred on July 4, 2019, and Rezaei, who is also a former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), made his statement the following day. The U.S. government has blamed the IRGC for carrying out, or otherwise supporting, attacks on a number of oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman in two separate incidents, [one in May 2019]() and [another the following month](). The IRGC also claimed responsibility [for shooting down]() a U.S. Navy drone in June 2019, which almost prompted the U.S. military to launch strikes [against targets in Iran](). With the situation so tense, *Pacific Voyager* had already caused a stir after it came to an unexpected stop in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, raising fears that the IRGC had followed through with Rezaei's threat. A representative of the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office [subsequently told *Reuters*]() that the ship was "safe and well" and that it had paused its voyage simply to ship its estimated time of arrival its next port of call. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1147399271874027521 It possible that this may have also been in order to allow *Montrose* and the minehunter to arrive in position. In addition, there's no indication that [naval mines]() have become an imminent threat in the region and its more likely that the smaller ship simply provided additional security for the tanker during the passage. ![message-editor%2F1562705672943-sandown.jpg]() *HMS *Shoreham*, one of the *Sandown*-class minehunters now reportedly forward-deployed to the Middle East, during an exercise., *USN** On July 8, 2019, another U.K.-flagged tanker, the BP-owned *British Heritage*, which had been on its way to Basara, Iraq, abruptly changed its plans and dropped anchor off Saudi Arabia. The ship had been under charter to Dutch Royal Shell, but has [reportedly canceled its booking]() and may now be waiting for its own escort out of the region. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1148479560650035200 The situation underscores the [often inherent risks]() to maritime commerce in the region, despite it being a major transit point for a third of the world's oil supply and for 90 percent of all energy exports, including natural gas, to destinations outside the Middle East. It also highlights the difficulties that even countries with maritime assets forward-deployed in the region face in responding to major security challenges. The Royal Navy's [Type 23 frigates]() are of a now older design, dating back to the late 1980s, but still have significant anti-aircraft, anti-ship, and anti-submarine capabilities. But while *Montrose*, together with the *Sandown*-class minehunter, would certainly be able to deter a small force from trying to board a tanker, but the two ships alone might have trouble contending with a larger Iranian contingent riding in a [swarm of small boats](), especially if coupled with other threats, such as [mines](), [shore-based missiles](), and [small unmanned aerial vehicles](). With all this in mind, it remains to be seen now whether *Montrose* and other Royal Navy ships in the region will begin escorting British-flagged commercial vessels regularly, or if those tankers and cargo ships increasingly avoid taking jobs in the region for the foreseeable future over potential Iranian threats. *Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com* ### Author social links