Can anyone explain what happened to the post I made on this thread at 5th Jan 2012, 00:18 as shown in the Google cache
here? It has mysteriously disappeared so I'll try again:
............................................................ ...........................................................
We've been here before during the Iran/Iraq 'Tanker War':
Originally Posted by The New Statesman
Minesweepers
3. Mr. Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many minesweepers or mine countermeasure vessels are immediately available for service within British territorial waters.
Mr. Ian Stewart: There are currently 40 mine counter measures vessels, including minesweepers, in service with the Fleet of which 33 are operational or engaged in preparing for service or trials or training. Except for the four Hunt class MCMVs attached to the Armilla patrol, all these 33 vessels are available for NATO and national tasks within European waters in the normal way.
Persian Gulf
14. Mr. Patrick McNair-Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he is satisfied with the arrangements for co-operation between the Royal Navy and other Western navies in the Gulf.
Mr. Ian Stewart: Satisfactory arrangements have been developed, both locally and between capitals, for co-operation. Although the Royal Navy's Armilla patrol remains a wholly national operation, the United Kingdom is committed to close co-ordination with other Western navies also working to preserve international freedom of navigation on Gulf waters.
31. Mr. Andy Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Royal Navy's mineclearing operations in the Gulf.
Mr. Ian Stewart: Four Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessels with afloat support arrived in the Gulf area in mid-September. They have carried out mine clearance operations at Fujairah, where they detected and destroyed five mines [laid by Iran], and off Dubai. They are currently involved in a further mine clearance operation off Qatar.
34. Ms. Primarolo: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the number of British units and ships currently serving in the Gulf area and their length of service there to date.
Mr. Ian Stewart: It is not our general policy to give details of the operational deployments of Royal Navy ships. However, I can say that there are currently three destroyers-frigates, four mine counter-measures vessels and their afloat support in the area of the Gulf. Royal Navy ships have been serving in the area as part of the Armilla patrol since 1980; the MCMVs supporting the patrol arrived in the area in mid-September. Although there are no British military units currently in the Gulf area, a number of loan service personnel are serving in various countries in the region.
Armilla Patrol
47. Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many merchant ships the Royal Navy's Armilla patrol has accompanied through the Straits of Hormuz since the start of the current year.
Mr. Ian Stewart: Up to the beginning of this month,the Armilla patrol has accompanied approximately 300 British merchant ships through the Straits of Hormuz this year.
In 1991, our MCMVs spearheaded the clearance of 1,300 mines laid by the Iraqis in the Northern Persian Gulf and in 2003 they cleared the approaches to Umm Qasr to permit the first delivery of humantarian aid to Iraq by RFA Sir Galahad. Today, the Royal Navy has only 15 mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) left, four of which are based in the Gulf as part of Op KIPION and rotated every 2-3 years.
Incidentally, it is the
Strait of Hormuz, not the
Straits.