The number of ‘militarily useful’ British-registered vessels has continued to decline, falling from 495 in 2023 to 475 by the end of 2024, continuing a long-term trend of decreasing maritime resources available for national defence, UK Defence Journal reports.
The latest data, released as part of the UK Armed Forces Equipment and Formations 2024 report, confirms a reduction of 20 vessels over the past year. The decrease was largely driven by a decline in product and chemical tankers, while updated data collection methods allowed for the inclusion of Roll-on Roll-off passenger vessels in 2023, which had been previously unavailable.
The decline follows a broader trend observed in recent years. In 2009, there were 841 British-registered vessels deemed useful for military requisition. By 2023, that number had dropped to 495, representing a 41.14% reduction. The latest figures show a further 4% decline over the past year.
Militarily useful vessels are defined as merchant ships, including tankers, dry cargo vessels, and passenger ships, that could be requisitioned to support UK military operations if required.
