British Warship Heading for Gibraltar
Friday, August 9, 2013 @ 4:50 PM
The Cougar 13 force is due to set sail on 12th August
Readers of the Spanish media this morning could be forgiven for thinking that a British warship was heading for Gibraltar “British warship heading for Gibraltar” in a deliberate act of provocation linked to the current dispute in relation to fishing rights and the creation of an artificial reef in Gibraltan waters.
However, according to the Ministry of Defence, this is in no way related to the current tensions and is part of a training exercise which has been planned for a considerable period of time.
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that a Royal Navy warship has formally requested, and been granted permission from the Spanish Authorities to dock in Gibraltar.
British vessels visiting Gibraltar are not obliged to seek permission from the Spanish authorities, other than communicating their presence in the area, which can be done at short notice. However, an agreement does exist between the nations of Spain and the UK that if a vessel has docked in another Spanish port prior to heading for Gibraltar that it cannot then dock in Gibraltar without prior permission.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that the HMS Westminster and two other vessels will visit Gibraltar, whilst other elements of the Cougar 13 task force will visit a number of Mediterranean ports in the training exercise.
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