| Gibraltar Squadron | |
|---|---|
_mooring_in_HM_Naval_Base%2c_Gibraltar.jpg) HMSDagger at HM Naval Base, Gibraltar | |
| Active | 28 August 1985 – present |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Maritime security and Force Protection |
| Size | 1 Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) (intermittently deployed), 2 Fast Patrol Boats, 3 Rigid-hulled Inflatable Boats (RHIBS), 1 diving support boat & 28 personnel (+ c. 34-50 assigned to the OPV)[1][2][3][4][5][6] |
| Garrison/HQ | PJOB Gibraltar/HQBritish Forces Gibraltar |
| Website | www |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Lt Cdr Henry Kilby |
TheGibraltar Squadron is a unit of theBritishRoyal Navy. It is the only seagoing Royal Naval unit based inGibraltar, attached toBritish Forces Gibraltar. It currently includes twoCutlass-class fast patrol boats with a maximum speed of up to 41-knots.[7][8] The squadron also uses four Arctic-24 rigid-hulled inflatable boats and deploys one diving support boat (DSBCrabb, named for Royal Navy diverLionel Crabb). The 2021 defence white paper indicated that henceforth, oneRiver-class offshore patrol vessel,HMS Trent, would also be permanently based inGibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean and in the Gulf of Guinea,[9] though by 2025/26 she was less often deployed from Gibraltar.[10] As of 2023, 28 personnel were assigned to the squadron, along with additional personnel assigned to HMSTrent when operating from the territory.[11]
England'scapture of Gibraltar in 1704 provided an essential operating base for the Royal Navy at the entrance to the Mediterranean and led to the establishment of a strong naval presence in the territory. This permanent British fleet presence at Gibraltar was maintained in varied forms through the centuries until the rundown and abolition of the BritishMediterranean Fleet in 1967. From the 1970s, the British naval presence in the region took on a more intermittent character, though Gibraltar remained important as a British naval staging base and was so used, for example, during theFalklands War in 1982. The importance of ensuring the security of Royal Navy facilities in Gibraltar was illustrated by the mooted but thwarted Argentine special forcesOperation Algeciras which envisaged an attack on British ships using Gibraltar during the War.
Gibraltar remains an important staging base for the Royal Navy, for instance hosting some 79 ship visits during 2022. All told, between 12,000 and 14,000 British military personnel are said to transit through Gibraltar in any given year.[12] Gibraltar incorporates underground weapon storage facilities suitable for holding munition stocks that can be drawn on to replenish Royal Navy vessels. In 2024,HMS Diamond transitted to Gibraltar to replenish its stocks ofAster 15 and/or 30 missiles afteroperations in the Red Sea against Houthis rebels.[13]
The current Gibraltar Squadron, focused on the role of base and coastal security, was established on 28 August 1985 following the withdrawal of theRAF Marine Craft Unit No. 1102.[14] The two motor launches attached to the previous unit, HMAFVSunderland andStirling, remained however and were subsequently renamed HM ships Hart and Cormorant respectively.[14] Both vessels remained with the squadron until May 1991 when they were replaced by the new P2000 patrol boats HM ShipsRanger andTrumpeter. These in turn remained with the squadron until 2003.[14]
Following the9/11 terrorist attacks, security arrangements for the squadron were enhanced and the unit received yet another new pair of patrol boats, HMSSabre and HMSScimitar, as well as three new RHIBs, in September 2002.[14] The unit has played host to nine URNU students each summer for a two-week acquaint, giving them experience of a front line unit.[15] In August 2011 the unit moved into its new facilities in the Old Boathouse on the Gibraltar waterfront. HM ShipsScimitar andSabre, previously known as MVGrey Fox and MVGrey Wolf respectively, had previously served in Northern Ireland. The two boats were capable of 30 knots and were armed with two General Purpose Machine guns (GPMGs). They were deployed with the Gibraltar Squadron from 2002 until 2020, when they were replaced on an interim basis by theArcher-class boats,Dasher andPursuer.
TheSpanish Navy andCivil Guard regularly and repeatedly enter Gibraltar territorial waters and vessels of the squadron are routinely dispatched to intercept them.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] In April 2024, a patrol boat belonging to the Spanish Civil Guard crashed into runway lights adjacent to the runway at the Gibraltar airport after reportedly pursuing suspected smugglers into Gibraltar territorial waters. Despite serious damage, the boat managed to return to Spain.[25] The issue of sovereignty over Gibraltar has been a matter of contention between theUnited Kingdom andSpain since the territory first became a British colony and latterly an overseas territory.[26][27]
In 2012, the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government undertook a review of the facilities and services associated with British Forces in Gibraltar. The review, known as Project EUSTON, has established that the three service units (the Gibraltar Squadron,RAF Gibraltar and theGibraltar Regiment) will remain whilst some facilities and services will be handed over to the civilian government.[28]
In July 2017 it was revealed that the squadron would receive two new warships which will be more "capable", "faster" and have "bigger guns", to replace HM ShipsSabre andScimitar "within the next two years".[29] In June 2020, pending further news of the new-build vessels,HMS Dasher andHMS Pursuer, a pair ofArcher class patrol boats previously attached to theCyprus Squadron, were transported to Gibraltar to serve as interim replacements forSabre andScimitar.[30] In July 2020, a contract was signed between the MoD andMerseyside-based boat builderMarine Specialised Technology for the construction and delivery of two new boats for Gibraltar. The first boat arrived in Gibraltar in November 2021 and the second arrived in March 2022.[31][32] In May, 2022 the twoArcher-class patrol boats,Dasher andPursuer, departed Gibraltar and returned to the U.K.[33]
In April 2021, pursuant to a decision announced in the2021 defence white paper, the 2000-tonne Offshore Patrol VesselHMS Trent also arrived for permanent posting at Gibraltar.[34]
The current organisation of the squadron is as follows:
Marine services at thePort of Gibraltar, including for naval vessels using the port, are provided by Boluda Towage Europe. Boluda acquired Resolve Marine Group in February 2024,[51] which had previously been providing marine services at the port with one ASD ocean-going and harbour tug (Resolve Hercules), four harbour tugs (Rooke,Wellington,Egerton andEliott), two barges (Isaac 1874 andRMG 280) as well as the anchor-handling tugResolve Blizzard, which can provide regional firefighting, oil pollution and emergency response services.[52][53] Several of these assets were acquired by Boluda. In June 2024, Boluda strengthened its own presence at Gibraltar by adding the tugboatVB Responder to its fleet.[54]
Since 2011 the Gibraltar Squadron has shared a headquarters and boathouse with the Marine Unit of theGibraltar Defence Police. The boathouse accommodates the Navy's two patrol boats and three RHIBs, and the police's two patrol boats and two RHIBs.[55]
According to the Royal Navy, the unit's mission is to:
"To contribute to the maritime defence and security of Gibraltar and, where necessary, the prosecution of offensive maritime operations in order to allow BFG to support military ops as directed by HMG."[56]
Based in a purpose-built headquarters in Gibraltar, the Squadron is operational throughout the year in order to meet its directive from Commander British Forces Gibraltar, with particular regard to the security and integrity of British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW). It is also responsible for the protection of British,NATO and allied warships passing through theStrait of Gibraltar or entering the naval base.[15] Uniquely for the Royal Navy, the Squadron is permanently assigned to the Operational Command of Commander Joint Operations.[57] The squadron is attached to thePortsmouth Flotilla and is one of only a few units permanently stationed overseas.