November 21, 2019 – InfraStrata plc, the UK quoted company focused on strategic infrastructure projects and physical asset life-cycle management, is pleased to announce that is has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Spanish shipbuilding company Navantia. This MoU is the first step towards formalizing a Teaming Agreement with Navantia, under which, both companies will work together on…
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September 10, 2019 – London’s 2019 Defence and Security International (DSEI) exhibition has seen Navantia host the presentation of the Navantia-BMT team’s proposal for the program of design and build for up to three Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships to be operated by the UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Navantia, participating in this tender in partnership with BMT, brings the necessary…
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February 20, 2019 – Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship RFA Tidesurge has been welcomed to the fleet today with a dedication service at Greenock’s Ocean Terminal. The 39,000-tonne fleet replenishment tanker is the latest of four new RFA ships which are the biggest in service. Previously, Greenock was the affiliated town of RFA Gold Rover, which provided sterling service in support…
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November 30, 2018 – A syndicate of British firms, along with four international shipbuilding companies, have been selected to compete for the Fleet Solid Support ships contract, Defence Minister Stuart Andrew has announced. The crucial vessels, which will deliver ammunition, food and supplies to UK forces across the globe, will work alongside the Royal Navy’s fleet of warships and will…
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October 7, 2018 – Defence Minister Stuart Andrew has announced that new contracts expected to be worth over £1bn have been signed with British firms to support military ships for the next decade. The contracts, which will secure over 700 jobs at shipyards across the country, will support the UK’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships and the Royal Navy’s Survey and…
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October 3, 2018 – On a fine autumn day, the third of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s new tankers heads to sea to begin military trials. RFA Tidesurge – one of four Tide-class ships built to support the new carriers and their battle groups – has already proven her seakeeping abilities courtesy of a lengthy delivery voyage from the builder’s yard…
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Nautilus has joined with other unions representing Royal Fleet Auxiliary staff and seafarers to make a top-level protest over the ‘untenable’ pressure on members’ terms and conditions. In a letter to defense minister Gavin Williamson, the general secretaries of Nautilus, the RMT and the PCS union call for a meeting to discuss concerns over the damaging impact of seven years…
Read MoreThe first of the Royal Navy’s new support ships, RFA Tidespring, arrived in Portsmouth for the first time November 16, 2017 ahead of her official entry to the service.
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All Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels must be built in UK yards, says GMB. GMB, the union for shipbuilding, has today [Thursday 2 November] said the UK Government’s decision to open-up the manufacture of three 40,000 tonne Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels to international tender ‘undermines the national interest’. Despite the recommendations of the Parker Report, the Government…
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Under brilliant Caribbean skies, support vessel RFA Mounts Bay takes on fuel for herself and her Wildcat helicopter… courtesy of the newly-arrived Dutch ship HNLMS Karel Doorman. A difficult – potentially dangerous – maneuver it’s typically performed mid-Ocean between a Royal Fleet Auxiliary and a warship to allow the latter to remain on station for extended periods. Like HMS Ocean,…
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RFA Mounts Bay has delivered six tonnes of emergency aid to Anguilla, the British Overseas Territory devastated by Hurricane Irma, and will shortly arrive in the British Virgin Islands to provide further support. The ship has been deployed in the Caribbean since July in preparation for the hurricane season, ready to provide support at a moment’s notice. Tasked by the…
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The third of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s new Tide-class tankers formally Christened September 1st. RFA Tidesurge was named by her sponsor Mrs. Joanna Woodcock, whose husband is Second Sea Lord Vice-Admiral Jonathan Woodcock, at a ceremony in the South Korean shipyard where the vessels are built. The 39,000-tonne tankers, designed to support HMS Queen Elizabeth and her sister HMS Prince…
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