The deployment of the British destroyer HMS Dragon to Cyprus has been delayed, with a UK trade union on Friday blaming a cost-cutting contract it says reduced key resupply and rearmament services to office hours.
The warship was ordered toward Cyprus after a drone strike targeted RAF Akrotiri, Britain’s key air base on the island, amid heightened regional tensions and threats linked to Iran and its Lebanese-based proxy Hezbollah.
British officials said HMS Dragon, a Type 45 air-defense destroyer, would help protect UK personnel and assets in the region.
In a statement released Friday, the trade union Prospect said a Defense Ministry contract awarded to Serco Marine in October 2025 may be directly contributing to the delay. The union said the revised contract, covering services such as tug support, resupply, and rearmament, only provides regular capacity on a weekday “9-to-5” basis due to staffing cuts. According to Prospect, some 21 posts have been made redundant, with 17 employees leaving in October.
“Our members warned when this contract was negotiated that it was based on the fantasy that conflict only occurs between nine and five on weekdays and that cutting additional support would have serious consequences,” Prospect General Secretary Mike Clancy said. He added that workers were now volunteering evenings and weekends to get the vessel ready, arguing that such a vital capability should not depend on staff goodwill.
Delay triggers criticism over UK's pace of response to ongoing conflict
The HMS Dragon’s departure was also delayed by the need to complete welding, maintenance, ammunition loading, and changes to its weapons fit, after the ship had originally been prepared for a different mission, according to British media.
UK Defense Minister Al Carns said the destroyer had to be “re-rolled” before sailing and would not depart until next week.
The delay has triggered criticism in Britain, with reports suggesting the ship may take up to two weeks to reach Cyprus, potentially arriving after French and Spanish naval assets already move into the area.
The row has added political pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government over the pace of Britain’s response to the latest escalation in the Middle East.
Serco has since rejected the claims. In comments published by British media, a company spokesperson said the contract’s core working hours were actually 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with overtime and weekend arrangements available when needed. The spokesperson said Serco had fulfilled every Royal Navy request “on time and to the agreed standard,” and called any suggestion that working patterns had hindered the HMS Dragon’s departure “completely untrue.”
The British Defense Ministry has similarly maintained that support requests tied to the HMS Dragon’s deployment were met. But the dispute has sharpened scrutiny of whether peacetime savings and outsourcing have left Britain’s naval infrastructure less able to respond quickly in a real crisis.
After Trump's rebuke, Starmer reiterates US-UK 'special relationship'
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Starmer defended his decision to participate in "defensive" operations against Iran, after initially refusing to allow the US to use British bases for the US-Israeli campaign, a decision that drew criticism from US President Donald Trump.
"The special relationship is in operation right now," Starmer said. "We are working together in the region, the US and the British working together to protect both the US and the British in joint bases, where we're jointly located, and we're sharing intelligence on a 24/7 basis in the usual way."