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RFA Lyme Bay arrives in the Middle East for potential Strait of Hormuz mission
23 June 2026
The specialist minehunting ship the UK dispatched to help re-start shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has arrived in the Middle East.
Packed with around half a dozen leading edge autonomous, crewless and remotely-operated systems, RFA Lyme Bay safely passed through the Red Sea.
The ship – crewed by more than 270 personnel: a combination of Royal Fleet Auxiliary seafarers, over 100 Royal Navy mine warfare and diving/explosive ordnance disposal experts, plus medics, Royal Marines, British Army soldiers and French sailors – has been quickly converted into a ‘mothership’ to accommodate and operate a string of new systems and craft as part of a proposed multi-national effort to render the gateway to the Gulf safe for merchant traffic to pass.
Leading the effort for the UK is Commander Gemma Britton Royal Navy, Commander United Kingdom Mine Countermeasures Force. She said “A huge number of people from across Defence and industry have worked exceptionally hard over the past few weeks to bring together experts and cutting edge mine detection and clearance technology on to Lyme Bay.
“We’ve trained hard and are enormously keen to utilise our skills on live operations that have such significance, not just to families and friends at home, but around the globe. This will be a multinational effort; the Royal Navy is ready to deliver.”
Sailing in company with German command and support ship FGS Mosel and minehunter FGS Fulda, Lyme Bay was shepherded through the Red Sea – where there remains the threat of missile and drone attack on passing shipping from Houthi rebels in Yemen – by air defence destroyer HMS Dragon. The 140-strong German force is equipped with autonomous systems, mine clearance divers and vessel protection teams.
We’ve trained hard and are enormously keen to utilise our skills on live operations that have such significance, not just to families and friends at home, but around the globe. This will be a multinational effort; the Royal Navy is ready to deliver.
With the peace agreement between the USA and Iran, the road is clear now for a minehunting force to move in locate – and, if necessary, clear – the narrow waters of the Strait of Hormuz of mines and underwater explosive devices.
Declaring the waters safe is as fundamental to them reopening to maritime traffic as the end of hostilities in the Strait.
Estimates suggest at around 450 merchant vessels (tankers, container ships, LNG carriers) are still bottled up in the Gulf following hostilities which began at the end of February.
Among the specialist pieces of equipment loaded aboard RFA Lyme Bay are at least two classes of crewless/autonomous boats, capable of launching towed sensors or remotely-operated submersibles autonomous 2D/3D sonar systems; Video Ray Defender-Viper portable mine disposal submersibles, capable of locating, identifying and destroying mines.
Captain Simon Herbert RFA, Lyme Bay’s Commanding Officer, said “Collectively this has been a whole ship effort: RFA, Royal Navy, Royal Marines, British Army, and our international colleagues. I am very proud of the determined contribution of everyone on board in enabling the ship to deploy safely to the Middle East and be ready for the potential mission ahead of us.”
Meanwhile HMS Dragon, which was dispatched in March to provide additional air defence for Cyprus after the island came under missile attack during the first days of the conflict, is central to providing protection for RFA Lyme Bay from air/missile attack especially.
The Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer has been operating east of Suez for the past month getting used to the environment, building up a picture of the patterns of life among seafarers and supporting the carrier strike group led by France’s flagship, FS Charles de Gaulle.
Commander Iain Giffin Royal Navy, Dragon’s Commanding Officer, said “Supporting the arrival of RFA Lyme Bay and our German partners into the region is a key step in the multi-national effort to restore Freedom of Navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
“HMS Dragon is proud to provide Area Air Defence to the task group as they transit through the Red Sea and beyond in order to carry out their vital mine clearance mission.
“Whether working with the French Carrier Strike Group or escorting UK and allied shipping, Dragon is deployed as part of the UK contribution to promote peace in the region.”