British Navy Leaves the Persian Gulf for the First Time Since 1980

For the first time since 1980, the British Royal Navy will have no combat presence in the Persian Gulf.

The last ship in the region, the minesweeper HMS Middleton, is preparing to return home, likely in the spring, according to The Telegraph.

No replacement is planned after its departure, which effectively means the end of the country’s permanent naval presence in the Middle East.

Over the past two decades, the number of ships in the fleet has decreased significantly: while 37 ships were deployed during the Iraq War in 2003, only eight were deployed last year. This indicates a gradual decline in the Royal Navy’s ability to operate in distant theaters.

At the same time, the British military acknowledges that the fleet is already “overloaded” with tasks.

First Sea Lord Sir Gwyn Jenkins warned last December that the Royal Navy was barely coping with monitoring Russian activity in the Atlantic.

The government insists that the country is not abandoning the region and that the British military base in Bahrain will remain a strategic hub.