British Private Navy Warship Held in Spain

An ex-Royal Navy officer’s converted warship has been seized by Spain amid fears he is a mercenary planning to fight pirates in Somalia.

Former lieutenant Chris Enmarsh’s decommissioned gunboat Defender has been stopped from sailing since being forced to stop off in Tenerife for repairs. The Spanish authorities are understood to be concerned that Mr Enmarsh and his five-man crew intend to operate as so-called guns-for-hire protecting oil platforms off the coastline of East Africa, reports the Daily Mail.

The 127ft boat was built in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in the mid-Seventies as a fast attack craft for the Sultan of Oman’s navy in the Gulf. Itwas decommissioned in 2002, and Mr Enmarsh is thought to have bought it two years ago.

Officials are understood to have been suspicious that the formidable looking vessel, which flies the British flag, was registered as a pleasure boat.

Source: Daily Mail