RFA Lyme Bay gears up for possible deployment

Crew on the RFA Lyme Bay loaded supplies on Wednesday, a day after the Royal Navy support vessel was placed on “heightened readiness” for possible deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean against the backdrop of the Middle East crisis.

The ship is currently docked alongside the South Mole in Gibraltar’s naval base, where it has been berthed since late last year.

“As part of prudent planning, we have taken the decision to bring RFA Lyme Bay to heightened readiness as a precaution, should she be needed to assist in maritime tasks in the Eastern Mediterranean,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said earlier this week.

UK media reports on Tuesday suggested the ship could be used to evacuate Britons if the UK Government gives the order.

The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon sailed from Portsmouth on Tuesday bound for Cyprus.

The Type 45 destroyer is capable of shooting down drones and ballistic missiles fired by Iran and its proxies as the Middle East crisis continues.

The announcement of the deployment of the ship came in response to a drone attack which hit the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus.