THE illustrious history of the Royal Navy can be traced back to one simple mission statement: protect British interests at sea and keep trade lanes open across the globe.

Of course in centuries gone by, that meant protecting tea clippers and spice ships as they journeyed from colonies to British ports with their expensive cargo. The threat landscape today is rather different.

And so too are the players. Britain is not the only naval force on the water protecting merchant shipping now. It’s joined by the European Naval Force and the US, among others.

The mission statement, though, is broadly the same: protect shipping and uphold freedom of navigation.

It’s a mission the First Sea Lord and head of the Royal Navy, Sir Gwyn Jenkins, reiterated at the headline conference of London International Shipping Week today. His navy, he said, remained “steadfast in its commitment” to defending the rules-based order “enshrined in frameworks such as the UN Convention on Law of the Sea”.

His words of reassurance were almost directly followed by those of James Henry Bergeron, political adviser to the Commander of Nato Allied Command, who admitted there “aren’t enough hulls anymore for the challenges we face”.

Senior naval personnel have appeared and spoke at several events this week, ostensibly to showcase their role in keeping maritime trade lanes open, but perhaps simply to be seen too.

The faces of some industry members have perhaps betrayed their true thoughts as they listen to those personnel: the jury on naval effectiveness in protecting shipping is still very much out.

It’s true that things aren’t as simple anymore as they were, say, in the Second World War, when merchant ships gathered in convoys to be shepherded across the frozen Arctic Ocean to supply Britain and the USSR with arms and food. As Bergeron pointed out, the capability to carry out precision strikes is now in the hands of pretty much anyone who can afford it, or at least anyone who has friends that can afford it.

Navies and shipping need to work out what each other want from the relationship. Do merchant ships want to sail in such close proximity to warships, which will surely be juicier targets for Houthi rebels, for example?

Working that out will not only be crucial to eventually reopening the Red Sea, but potentially keeping other routes open too.

Bergeron’s stark warning about the Cape of Good Hope being relatively easy to disrupt will send shivers down many a spine.

God only knows where ships will reroute to in that event.

Joshua Minchin
Senior reporter, Lloyd’s List

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