Britain once ruled the waves, but as of this morning it appears those who govern her cannot count her ships. When faced with robust questioning from radio presenter and Express columnist Nick Ferrari, the Defence Secretary John Healey appeared in disarray as he struggled to give an answer to a question that surely, the man responsible for this islands defences, should know.

How many ships do we have? It is not a complex question, and one that must have been expected after news emerged that British Naval Officers will need to serve on a German warship to lead a NATO mission the United Kingdom was scheduled to command.

The reason given for this need for teutonic efficiency? Not one British vessel was available. It is perfectly reasonable, therefore, to expect you would be confronted with questions about why this sorry state of affairs came about. But Mr Healey appeared not to have the numbers to hand, and when he did provide the figures – 17 frigates and destroyers – questions were immediately put by viewers that he might be wrong. Some commentators suggested the number is as low as 13!

It beggars belief. There are bad interviews, and then there are ones such as this, which paint our country as weak in the eyes of our rivals on the world stage.

In 2017, Diane Abbott drew ridicule after she could not cost a flagship Labour policing policy. In 2015, the Green Party’s Natalie Bennett struggled on similar matters and had a “brain fade” in which she could not confirm how much eco-pledges would hit our packets.

Those were embarrassing, yes. But they were better than this. Thankfully, neither Ms Abbott nor Ms Bennett were in charge. John Healey is, while Ferrari has form for exposing politicians who do not know their brief. When he does it to opposition spokespeople, it is good sport. When he does it to ministers, it reveals a national unpreparedness that shames this country.

The episode is symptomatic of a Royal Navy in distress. The UK was due to lead this long-planned NATO operation, but must now borrow a German ship because no British one is ready for deployment. The Ministry of Defence reportedly has only HMS Dragon available for tasking, a single vessel trying to cover commitments across an entire region currently engulfed in a war, the effects of which we are now feeling

The wider context makes this more embarrassing still. It took the MoD weeks to deploy HMS Dragon to Cyprus following the outbreak of war with Iran, leaving British territory in the Eastern Mediterranean without naval defences during a period of heightened threat. Britain’s maritime forces are stretched so thin that pre-planned NATO obligations cannot be met.

This is not just about numbers. Every navy has ships in repair or working up to operational readiness. But when Britain cannot field a single warship for a mission it was scheduled to lead, despite months of advance planning, something has gone seriously wrong.

The Royal Navy’s operational availability has become a recurring source of national embarrassment. Chronic underinvestment, poor procurement decisions, and an overstretched fleet have created a force unable to meet Britain’s commitments as a maritime nation. We are reduced to borrowing ships from allies for operations we were meant to command.

Gaffes like Mr Healey’s erode trust and confidence, and when the Defence Secretary cannot recall how many frigates and destroyers Britain possesses, it suggests a department not in command of the facts. When the Royal Navy cannot deploy a ship for a NATO mission, it raises questions about Britain’s reliability as an ally.

Britain built an empire on seapower. We secured trade routes, defended allies, and projected influence across the globe. Now we struggle to deploy a single destroyer on time and must ask Germany to provide a ship for a mission bearing our country’s name.

The decline of one of the nation’s greatest sources of pride is undeniable, and I fear the embarrassment is now complete.