[3] The Naval Service as a whole falls under the command of the Navy Board, which is headed by the First Sea Lord.

Among the many contractors which support the Ministry of Defence and Royal Navy is Serco Marine Services, provided under a private finance initiative.

The surface fleet consists of aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, patrol ships, mine-countermeasures, and miscellaneous vessels.

Consisting of a single manoeuvre brigade (UK Commando Force) and various independent units, the Royal Marines specialise in amphibious, arctic, and mountain warfare.

RFA personnel are members of the Ministry of Defence civil service who wear Merchant Navy rank insignia with naval uniforms and are under naval discipline when the vessel is engaged on warlike operations.

RFA vessels are commanded and crewed by these civilians, augmented with regular and reserve Royal Navy personnel to perform specialised military functions such as operating and maintaining helicopters or providing hospital facilities.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary also provides the naval service's principal amphibious warfare capability through its three Bay-class landing ship dock vessels.

[18] Marine Services enables Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ships, including the United Kingdom's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent, to either move in or out of port for operational deployment and training exercises around the world.

[20] Boluda acquired Resolve Marine Group in 2024, which had been equipped with one ASD ocean-going and harbour tug (Resolve Hercules), four harbour tugs (Rooke, Wellington, Egerton and Eliott), two barges (Isaac 1874 and RMG 280) as well as the anchor-handling tug Resolve Blizzard, which provided regional firefighting, oil pollution and emergency response services.

[21][22] Several of these assets were acquired by Boluda which, in June 2024, also strengthened its own presence at Gibraltar by adding the tugboat “VB Responder” to its fleet.