RFA Proteus

RFA Proteus is a ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary within His Majesty's Naval Service of the United Kingdom. Acquired in 2023, the ship entered drydock at Cammell Laird for modification into a Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship (MROSS). She formally entered service in October 2023.[8]

Not to be confused with HMS Proteus.

RFA Proteus
Proteus at Cammell Laird
History
Marshall Islands
NameTopaz Tangaroa
OwnerP&O Maritime Logistics
Port of registryMajuro
BuilderVard Brattvaag, Norway and Tulcea shipyard in Romania.
Cost$62 million[1]
Yard number841
Launched18 March 2017[2]
FateSold to Ministry of Defence, 14 February 2023
United Kingdom
NameProteus
NamesakeProteus, a sea-god in Greek mythology
Acquired14 February 2023
In service10 October 2023
HomeportFalmouth
Identification
StatusIn active service
General characteristics
Class and typeVARD 3 08[5]
TypeMulti-role ocean surveillance ship
Tonnage
Displacement6,000 t (5,900 long tons)[3]
Length98.1 m (321 ft 10 in)[2]
Beam20.048 m (65 ft 9.3 in)[2]
Draught6.0 m (19 ft 8 in)[2]
Propulsion
  • 2 × Caterpillar 3516C diesel engines (2 × 2,250 kW, 3,020 hp)
  • 1 × Caterpillar 3512C diesel engine (1 × 1,700 kW, 2,300 hp)
  • 2 × Caterpillar C32 diesel engines (2 × 1,820 kW, 2,440 hp)
  • 2 × Kongsberg azimuth thrusters (2 × 1,650kW)
  • 1 × bow thruster (1 × 1,500 kW, 2,000 hp)[2]
SpeedMax 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)[6]
Complement82 as civil supply vessel;[6] 24 RFA and 60 RN personnel in RFA service[7]
Aviation facilitiesHelipad

The ship was formerly named MV Topaz Tangaroa in 2017–2022, and was used as a platform supply vessel operated by P&O Maritime Logistics.[3] The vessel is in a shipyard being refitted as of May 2023, after being sold to the U.K. Ministry of Defence in January 2023.

Proteus is one of two new commercial vessels acquired for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 2023, the other being RFA Stirling Castle; a mine hunting support ship to act as a mothership for autonomous minehunters.[9]

History

MV Topaz Tangaroa

The ship operated as the offshore support vessel MV Topaz Tangaroa for Topaz Marine (later, P&O Maritime Logistics) from December 2019 until January 2023. Designed and built by Vard Brattvaag, Norway and with the hull construction completed in Tulcea shipyard, Romania[5] the primary capabilities of Topaz Tangaroa were to support subsea construction and installation projects, subsea inspection and survey, and as a mother ship to support remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations. The ship was flagged in the Marshall Islands with its home port as Majuro.

Projects for which Topaz Tangaroa was deployed includes supporting the construction of the Greater Changhua offshore wind farm near Taiwan.[10]

RFA Proteus

Owing to the UK's government's growing concern about protecting subsea infrastructure, and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Topaz Tangaroa was purchased by the UK's Ministry of Defence in February 2023 for £70 million to be converted into a multi-role ocean surveillance (MROS) ship operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.[11] The ship was assigned the pennant number K60. Initial conversion for naval service is being conducted at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, UK.

The MROS was initially announced by the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace during the 2022 Conservative Party conference. Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson had first discussed the possibility of such a vessel in November 2020.[12]

She is equipped with a 120-tonne crane as well as a hangar and workshops capable of accommodating remotely operated and other unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). The Ministry of Defence reportedly acquired three Kongsberg HUGIN Large UUVs which reportedly can conduct surveillance and surveys down to depths of 6,000 metres (20,000 ft).[13][14]

Conversion of Proteus was completed in September 2023 and the ship began post-conversion sea trials.[15] She formally entered service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in October 2023.[16][17]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to IMO 9792539.
  1. "P&O Maritime takes big profit by selling subsea ship to UK government". Tradewinds. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  2. "TOPAZ TANGAROA". DNV Vessel Register. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  3. "First images of new Multi Role Ocean Support ship (MROS) renamed RFA Proteus". Navy Lookout. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  4. "TOPAZ TANGAROA (9792539)". Equasis. French Ministry for Transport. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  5. "Topaz Tangaroa". Vard Group AS. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  6. "Topaz Tangaroa – IMO 9792539". Scheepvaartwest. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  7. "RFA looks to Greek god Proteus to protect UK's underwater assets". Royal Navy. 2 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  8. "A guide to RFA Proteus – the UK's new seabed warfare vessel". Navy Lookout. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  9. "New mine-hunting support ship named". Royal Navy. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  10. "Van Oord Sends Cable Installation Fleet to Taiwan". offshoreWIND.biz. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  11. "First images of new Multi Role Ocean Support ship (MROS) renamed RFA Proteus". Navy Lookout. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  12. "Protecting seabed infrastructure – UK Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship to be in service by 2023". Navy Lookout. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  13. "A guide to RFA Proteus – the UK's new seabed warfare vessel". Navy Lookout. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  14. "Marine Robots". Kongsberg. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  15. @NavyLookout (16 September 2023). "@NavyLookout Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) @RFAProteus is finally due to leave @CammellLaird shipyard today following conversion work" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 September 2023 – via Twitter.
  16. UK Details Delivery Timeframes And Capabilities For MROSS Ships, Lee Willet, Naval News, 31 May 2023.
  17. "A guide to RFA Proteus – the UK's new seabed warfare vessel". Navy Lookout. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.