HMS Duncan stops off in Gibraltar on way to Red Sea

The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Duncan arrived in Gibraltar on Monday morning for a logistical stop on its way to the Red Sea, where it will join an international task force protecting vital trade routes from attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

HMS Duncan will relieve sister ship HMS Diamond, which has been performing the same task since before Christmas, including shooting down nine drones and one missile launched by the Houthis from the coast of Yemen at cargo ships.

Both warships are armed with Sea Viper missiles and equipped with powerful radar systems able to accurately detect faraway threats.

The vessel’s arrival in Gibraltar comes just days after RAF planes carried out strikes against Houthi rebels.

British and US forces last Thursday struck Houthi targets in Yemen in the fifth combined operation since January.

“These strikes were conducted to further degrade the military capabilities of the Houthis and to prevent further attacks on international shipping,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said at the time.

“The strikes were taken in self-defence in the face of an ongoing threat that the Houthis pose.”

Asked whether this new round of strikes risked escalation with Iran, who back the Houthis, Mr Sunak said: “We have always said that we will not hesitate to protect British interests abroad and at home.”

“There is an ongoing threat that the Houthis pose, 197 attacks since November, all our intelligence indicates that previous sets of strikes have been successful in degrading military capabilities of the Houthis: targeting supply, command and control launch sites for missiles and there is also a risk in inaction that would damage the global economy and further risk our international security.”

Ahead of the deployment, HMS Duncan’s crew of 200 men and women completed trials and training last week in preparation for an intensive spell on operations.

“I am immensely proud of the work the ship’s company have done to ready HMS Duncan for this important deployment,” said the warship’s Commanding Officer, Commander Dan Lee, in a statement issued by the Royal Navy.

“HMS Duncan will be ready to deliver on operations around the clock as we join efforts to protect trade routes from Houthi attacks, continuing the excellent work of HMS Diamond and HMS Richmond in the region.”

“We have spent the past week readying the ship and saying our farewells to our families and loved ones who turned out to wave us off from Round Tower in Portsmouth..”

“It is a privilege to serve on the Royal Navy’s ‘last and best’ Type 45 destroyer and I have every confidence that the ship and our people will succeed on operations and support stability where tasked.”

HMS Duncan spent five months leading NATO’s premier task group in the Mediterranean Sea last year, leading allies on patrols and working for the safety and stability of the region until handing over flagship duties to the Italian Navy in December.

Just 22 weeks later, the ship is primed for more operations, but with more than 60 new members of the crew champing at the bit to get going.

Among them is Able Rating Charles Henderson, 18. He is a seaman specialist and this is his first ship and first deployment.

“I am immensely excited to be deploying but I’m highly focused on the operations ahead and ready to put all my training into practice,” he said.

The ship will initially carry out specific weapons, damage control and survival training through various realistic but mock operational scenarios, before further trials in the Mediterranean and eventually sailing through the Suez Canal and into the operational theatre.