HMS Daring protecting shipping in the Middle East

Maritime November 23, 2016

HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer, has been providing protection to merchant vessels and other Royal Navy ships passing through the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

The Portsmouth-based warship is equipped to tackle possible air and surface threats with her combination of surveillance radars and Sea Viper missiles.

As part of its duties, HMS Daring has escorted the Navy’s Joint Expeditionary Force task group including Devonport-based HMS Bulwark, flagship HMS Ocean, and the MV Eddystone Point.

The importance of strong naval protection is vital to the UK, as around 95% of Britain’s economic activity depends upon the sea and a vast amount of global trade passes through the region.

The ship will be operating as part of Combined Task Force 150 with Royal Navy and Royal Marines boarding teams conducting counter piracy, counter terrorist and counter smuggling operations.

Jonathan Roberts, of the UK Chamber of Shipping commented: “An island nation needs a strong shipping industry and a strong shipping industry needs military support and protection.”

Daring’s main function, however, is to disrupt terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and Al Shabab and deter piracy and other unlawful activities at sea in an area spanning from the Suez Canal, through the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and into the Gulf of Oman.

HMS Daring operates with the Royal Navy’s newest type of helicopter, the Wildcat Mk2, which takes the ship’s capability beyond the horizon. It utilises a cutting-edge targeting system and surveillance radar to help reduce the threat of waterborne attack.

The Type 45 has been in the headlines this week after the MOD was criticised by MPs in a Defence Committee Report entitled ‘Restoring the Fleet’.

The report also criticised the MOD for the “extraordinary mistakes” in the design of the Type 45 and called on the Department to demonstrate it had learnt from these mistakes.

The MoD, at the tax payers’ expense, is being forced to refit the engines of all six Type 45 destroyers following a series of serious engine failures due to being unable to operate for extended periods of time in warm waters.

These resulted from major shortcomings in specification, design and testing for which blame can be attributed both to the MoD and its contractors.

The report said: “The UK’s enduring presence in the Gulf should have made it a key requirement for the engines. The fact that it was not was an inexcusable failing and one, which must not be repeated.”