Royal Navy Tells Sailors To Go Dry Two Days Out Of The Week

The Royal Navy has announced a new policy banning alcohol on warships for at least two days out of the week, a move once unheard of in the centuries-old service.

Crews will be limited to 14 units of alcohol a week, equating to approximately six pints of lager, according to The Telegraph. The move comes as some Navy chiefs have expressed “a significant concern” over alcohol use on ships, though former naval officers raised worries it might be a shift in the direction of dry ships.

By contrast, the U.S. Navy has had a policy against drinking on warships at all times since 1914, though American captains can sign off on one “beer day” for ships that have been at sea 45 days.

Former First Sea Lord Alan West said he is “rather surprised” at the new policy in an interview with Leading Britain’s Conversation. “I don’t necessarily think it’ll stop people coming into the Navy, but I do think it’s over policed,” he argued. “If we start down this route, the next thing is that you should only have salads at lunchtime and the whole raft of other things like that.” (RELATED: Historically Catholic University Appoints Professor Who Calls Abortion Bans ‘Sexual Violence’) 

‘Why are the MoD focusing on this?’

Lord West rubbishes the Royal Navy’s new crackdown on alcohol, which sees sailors limited to six pints a week. pic.twitter.com/cLReScgt3R

— LBC (@LBC) January 29, 2026

The Royal Navy’s history of providing sailors with alcoholic drinks spans back to the 17th century, according to The Telegraph. Sailors were given a gallon of beer a day once water supplies in wooden barrels had run out or been deemed unsafe to drink. Sailors called the drink “liquid bread” due to its contents of vitamins and carbohydrates, important to sailors traveling on the seas for months without much of a nutritious diet.

The last time the Royal Navy placed a restriction on drinking was in 1970, ending the lunchtime serving of a tot of rum daily in what become known as Black Tot Day, according to the BBC.