Why You Should Read the UK National Strategy For Maritime Security

 

The UK has published the latest iteration of its Maritime Security Strategy, the top level document which sets out how the British Government intends to deliver security in the maritime space. To some readers this will seem an obvious question with an obvious answer – namely ‘the Royal Navy’. Yet the reality is vastly different and much more complicated. That the foreword to the document was jointly co-signed by no less than 5 Cabinet Ministers, from the MOD, FCDO, Home Office, Defra and Dept for Transport shows just how complex this domain really is. It is hard to think of any other government policy document which has such a high level of cross departmental interest. What is the goal of this particular document and why does it matter so much?

Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright


At the risk of stating the obvious, the UK is an island nation and its food and fate is inextricably linked to the sea. From freighters providing a range of manufactured goods from the Far East, to ships carrying foodstuffs from South America, the use of the sea for trade and goods is central to the British way of life. Without imports and exports then very quickly the UK economy will whither and die. Global trade drove so much of British policy making throughout history, and the use of the sea to send sailors, explorers, merchants and military personnel has left an indelible mark on our island nation. It is hard to name a single facet of British life that is not impacted by the sea in some way, and it makes sense to understand how best to use and embrace it.

The strategy contains some useful statistics on the scale and importance of merchant shipping to the British economy – 95% of all British goods entering the UK did so by sea, while 99% of all data transmitted via the internet through the UK is handled via subsea cables. Globally around 80% of trade by volume is carried by the sea, while the Red Ensign group of vessels (e.g ships registered in the UK or overseas territories) is the 10th largest merchant fleet in the world. There are huge economic and security interests at stake in the maritime domain and being able to understand this and protect them is key here. Disruption to the global economy at sea, be it by piracy, disaster or war, could have devastating impacts on the British and wider global economy.

UK stakeholders in maritime domain

The document is an attempt to try to capture how the UK government wants to play its part in securing security in the maritime domain and how it can deliver this across a range of channels. What becomes clear from reading the document is the scale of ambition that the UK has when it comes to operating across multiple areas and environments to put help secure maritime security. It isn’t just about people in ships/boats doing ‘stuff’, rather it is about a complex web of legal, diplomatic, military, law enforcement and other channels being used to deliver government goals.  For example, at a diplomatic and legal level there is an enormous amount that can be done through membership of international organisations to help shape the legal frameworks around maritime issues. For example, pollution regulations to reduce the impact on the environment if a ship runs aground, or fishery conservation to protect stocks and ensure there is a long term sustainable supply of fishes for human consumption and so on.

The UK government will use the strategy to work towards 5 specific goals over the next few years – these are:

1: Protecting our homeland

2: Responding to threats

3: Ensuring prosperity

4: Championing our values

5: Supporting a secure, resilient ocean

By having this top level goal, it helps government departments plan on how they will deliver against these aims and ensure they can meet the strategic direction of the day. The MOD for example will be able to review its operational plans, policy direction, commitments and wider activity to ensure that when undertaking Royal Navy activity, it is done against the backdrop of a clear strategic goal.

Underpinning these top level goals is a statement on where the Government sees the key risks in the maritime sector. It believes that in priority order, the following are of concern:

• Terrorism affecting the UK and its maritime interests, including attacks against

cargo or passenger ships.

• Disruption to vital maritime trade routes resulting from war, criminality, piracy, or

changes in international norms.

• Attack on UK maritime infrastructure or shipping, including cyber-attack.

• The transportation of illegal items by sea, including weapons of mass

destruction, controlled drugs, and arms.

• People smuggling and human trafficking

It is clear that the MOD has a large part to play in many of these areas, and in particular the Royal Navy. There is a defence contribution that could be made to support the contingency planning for, the response too, or the mitigations against all of the above issues, although it may not always involve ships to do this.  In practical terms then relatively little will change for Defence in the short term though. The report reaffirms the importance of the Royal Navy in delivering maritime security, citing for example the importance of UK commitments in Bahrain and in NATO, and in enhancing UK security. There are no specific new planned capabilities announced, although it notes that the Royal Navy will deploy a Littoral Response Group to the Indo-Pacific region in 2023 on an enduring basis to enhance the OPV presence. What is notable though is how the emphasis on the commitment to NATO has expanded, with a much higher profile than before, helping show the importance of the ongoing NATO mission to the MOD.



One area which gets attention is the importance of accurately surveying the seabed and in ensuring a better understanding of what lies beneath the waves. It is sometimes said that we know more about the dark side of the moon than we do the ocean bed, and it is perhaps easier to get people to the dark side of the moon too… The strategy notes that the UK currently has the 5th largest marine estate in the world, comprising both home waters and those around the overseas territories – yet only some 10% of it has been properly surveyed. This means huge questions exist over what may lie beneath and how it can be properly understood and used. To help resolve this the Hydrographic Office is setting up a UK Center for Seabed Mapping to better understand what both government and industry can do in this space.

Some will ask whether this is an ironic decision given that the UK has just decommissioned the survey ship HMS ECHO several years earlier than planned, and HMS ENTERPRISE is unlikely to last much longer either. Can you credibly advise on seabed mapping if you’re actively getting rid of the ships used to conduct this work? This comes to the heart of the debate as to what the future is for the Royal Navy – is it platforms or capability?

 Arguably a very large amount of what the RN needs from hydrographic work could be delivered via commercial ships chartered and with a naval party embarked, or via uncrewed drone systems – the time when you need a warship with all the associated footprint of crew and cost for this work is limited. If you took the warship out of the equation and focused purely on the capability you need to deliver, you could free up more resources to have a greater overall impact than just running on two or three older warships.

But to do this and achieve the main effect would lose the soft benefits of a warship – a commercially chartered ship cannot hope to do defence diplomacy, or be retasked for other duties, or function as a military platform. The soft power value of a visit or exercise cannot be underestimated – nor too can the value of a grey hull delivering aid when needed. It is barely two years since the explosion in Beirut, where HMS ENTERPRISE was sent to deliver hydrographic support to the devastated city – something that not only was a major source of support to the Lebanese, but also helped enhance the UK’s wider reputation. A commercial ship would not have the same impact, even if it could deliver the same effect.

This sort of debate will continue with the Royal Navy and wider government departments as they try to figure out what sort of maritime protective capability is needed in the future. For example the report refers to a programme of replacement border cutters for the Home Office, ships that in other nations may be used by navies as OPVs. Understanding where the boundaries lie, whether ships need to be naval, or even if crewed ships are needed at all is central to understanding how to deliver effective maritime security going forward.

Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright



What is clear though is the importance of the Royal Navy in supporting the national interests around the world, and the huge impact on the UK economy if something goes wrong and causes disruption. It notes that over 60% of global trade passes through the Asia, and over £91 billion of exports into the UK are reliant on the smooth passage of maritime trade. It is against this backdrop that the Royal Navy and wider Defence capabilities are so vital – a global presence is needed because threats to UK and allied shipping abound across the globe. Failing to be able to respond, or being reliant on third party states to deliver the response means that the UK may find itself unable to protect British maritime interests globally. If nothing else is taken from the report, understanding the critical importance that a globally deployed Royal Navy has on the security of our economy as a whole is key.

Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright



This strategy is worth the time to digest and understand – it sets out clearly why the sea matters, why the UK needs to engage globally in the maritime space and how it can do so via a variety of channels. This document is the headmark upon which so much of UK government activity is likely to be conducted for years to come – it is worth reading and understanding because it makes the compelling case for why the sea matters in a way that goes far beyond the obvious and leaves the reader in no doubt that “It is upon the Navy, under the good providence of God, that the Wealth, Prosperity & peace of these Islands & (Oversea Territories) do mainly depend”…

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

OP WILMOT - The Secret SBS Mission to Protect the QE2

Image
  In April 1973 the iconic Cunard cruise liner ‘Queen Elizabeth 2’ (QE2) steamed out of Southampton docks on a private chartered cruise. Her voyage would take her through the Mediterranean Sea to Israel to mark the 25 th anniversary of the founding of the Israeli state. The risks were high though, with an increase in terrorism around the world, particularly targeting Israelis, and there was considerable hostility from other regional states. There was a clear concern about the security of passengers onboard, which is why when the QE2 sailed, she was carry 29 heavily armed Royal Marine members of the Special Boat Section (SBS) as both overt and covert passengers onboard to deal with any threat. This is the story of that operation, known as OP WILMOT. UK MOD © Crown copyright The QE2 was chartered to sail on 15 April from Southampton with around 700 passengers onboard, many of whom were believed to be American. The plan for the cruise involve calls at Lisbon, call at the ports of A...
Read more

"One of our nuclear warheads is missing" - The 1971 THROSK Incident

Image
On a dark February day in early 1971 off the coast of Plymouth, there was rising concern about the fact that the unthinkable had happened. The small elderly Naval Armaments Vessel (NAV) THROSK, on passage to the Royal Navy Armaments Depot Coulport, in Scotland, and carrying Polaris nuclear warhead sub-assemblies, had vanished. Warships put to sea, and helicopters from RNAS Culdrose were launched in a desperate search operation to find her. Despite this, no sign could be found. At 0824 that morning, Flag Officer Plymouth sent a SECRET signal initiating the procedures for a possible ‘Nuclear Weapon Accident’ and the Royal Navy prepared for the previously unthinkable reality that one its strategic nuclear warheads was missing… This sounds the stuff of good Cold War fiction, or a scenario from a disaster planning exercise. In fact it is completely true and represents an all but forgotten story of the early days of the Polaris force and the challenges faced by the Royal Navy as it set up ...
Read more

"The Bomber Will Always Get Through" - The Prime Minister and Nuclear Retaliation.

Image
  The 2024 UK General Election has been held, and a new Government returned. For only the 4 th time in 45 years, there has been a handover of power, on this occasion between the Conservative and Labour party. The new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer MP had, within hours of his election victory assumed office in a peaceful and smooth transition of power, the sort of moment that makes you realise how truly fortunate the UK is to enjoy an election where the outcome is accepted without question or debate. Now that the Prime Minister is settled in No 10 Downing Street, the detailed business of the transition of power has begun. If you believe various media accounts, practically the first thing that happens is that the newly appointed Prime Minister is given a briefing on the nuclear deterrent, a pad of paper and a pen, and ask to discreetly write down their views on what the end of the world should look like. Known as the ‘Letters of Last Resort’ these documents have assumed a near myt...
Read more