WEBF,
If you look here
http://www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/defencenews/
which all the public can see, the mine clearance story is mentioned. Best you spend even more hours of your life trawling the internet for news nobody else is very bothered about, it took me at least 30 seconds to find, but I am only a two finger typist!
It didn't make the newspapers because it wasn't considered interesting enough!!
As for the increase in piracy, what about it? Are you saying we should increase/maintain the size of the RN because of the piracy threat? If that is so, why not just get NATO to move half the battleships that spend their time cruising around the Atlantic and Med to move to the trouble spots. Or how about get the nations in the piracy hot spot areas to clean up their own back yard?
As for maritime terroism. It might well be possible, or have happened. But part of terroism is about disrupting/effecting as many peoples lives as possible. How many people around the world now spend extra time being searched going through airports - and every time it happens to them they are reminded exactly why!! I would suggest that from a terroist point of view the maritime environment is more a method of transportation than a mainstream method of carrying out headline grabbing attacks.
I suggest that in future you stick to posting non-aviation (don't tell me - there is a helo on the back of every battleship) naval posts on rum ration or to your MP.