New Delhi, July 2 -- LONDON - The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Lyme Bay arrived in the Middle East in late June carrying more than 100 Royal Navy mine warfare specialists, autonomous minehunting systems, and French sailors. More than 40 nations have committed equipment or personnel to the multinational coalition it leads. The mines it came to clear are, per Pentagon estimates, still there. Iran says the coalition has no legal authority to touch them.

RFA Lyme Bay was converted from a Bay-class amphibious support ship into what the Royal Navy is calling a minehunting mothership - fitted with autonomous surface vessels, remotely operated underwater vehicles, mine disposal systems, and sonar arrays capable of mapping the seabed at depth. Comm...