Tag: RFA

RFA Tidesurge Welcomed to the Fleet

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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 of the Royal Navy, NATO, and coalition allies for over 40 years. RFA Tidesurge will now take on the honor, continuing its close ties with the area. Members of the…

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Shipbuilding Firms Chosen for Fleet Solid Support Competition

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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 be an important part of the UK Maritime Task Group. The British consortium is made up of leading manufacturing and engineering companies Babcock, BAE Systems, Cammell Laird and Rolls-Royce. They…

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New £1bn Deal to Support Navy Operations Will Support Over 700 British Jobs for a Decade, Defence Minister Announces

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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 Hydrographic Fleet. The deal covers 17 ships and will improve how spares, repairs and maintenance work are carried out. The successful companies will work on the ships at dockyards around…

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Surge in Action as RFA Tidesurge begins trials

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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 in South Korea all the way round to Falmouth. There, A&P turned a tanker into a military tanker courtesy of comms kit, computer systems, defensive weaponry and the like –…

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Unions Urge Defense Minister to End Unacceptable Peg on RFA pay

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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 of tough pay restraint following another year in which a 1% pay cap was imposed on RFA seafarers and shore-based staff. They stress the strategic significance of the RFA to…

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GMB Slams Government for Insisting Vital Royal Navy Shipbuilding Contracts Must Be Tendered to Foreign Competitors

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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 decided contracts for the new RFA’s should be offered to international companies – rather that keeping construction for UK shipyards. Glasgow South West MP Christopher Stephens asked the Ministry of…

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Mounts Bay performs RAS – Replenishment Along Side

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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, the Doorman – an amphibious support vessel – was sent across the Atlantic in the wake of last months hurricanes. As well as loading relief from her native country to…

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RFA Mounts Bay delivers vital aid to Caribbean Islands

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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 Royal Navy, she was the UK’s first military response to the Caribbean. The ship carries a specialist disaster relief team – drawn from the Royal Engineers and Royal Logistics Corps…

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RFA Tidesurge Christened September 1st

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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 of Wales, are capable of carrying up to 19,000 cubic metres of fuel and 1,400 cubic metres of fresh water.

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