RFA Tidespring (A136)

RFA Tidespring is a Tide-class replenishment tanker of the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). Built by DSME in 2016, the ship entered service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in November 2017.

For other ships with the same name, see RFA Tidespring.
RFA Tidespring
History
United Kingdom
NameRFA Tidespring
NamesakeRFA Tidespring
OrderedFebruary 2012
BuilderDSME
Laid downDecember 2014
LaunchedApril 2015
In service27 November 2017
HomeportMarchwood Military Port, Southampton[1]
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics [2]
Class and typeTide-class fast fleet tanker
Displacement37,000 t (36,000 long tons)
Length200.9 m (659 ft 1 in)
Beam28.6 m (93 ft 10 in)[3]
Draft10 m (32 ft 10 in)
PropulsionCODELOD
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range18,200 nautical miles (33,700 km; 20,900 mi)
Capacity
  • Tanks for diesel oil, aviation fuel (19,000 m³) and fresh water (1,400 m³)
  • Lubrication oil stored in drums
  • Stowage for up to eight 20 ft containers
Complement63 plus 46 non-crew embarked persons (Royal Marines, flight crew, trainees)
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Kelvin Hughes Integrated Bridge System
  • Servowatch IPMS System
  • 3 × SharpEye radar[4]
Armament
  • 2 × Phalanx CIWS (fitted for, depending on deployment)[5]
  • 2 × 30 mm cannons (fitted for, depending on deployment)[6]
Aircraft carried1 medium helicopter with full hangar facilities (Merlin / Wildcat), flight deck capable of landing Chinook-size helicopter

Construction

The construction of Tidespring was carried out by DSME in South Korea with her steel first being cut by RFA Commodore Rob Dorey on 24 June 2014.[7] The ship was laid down on 22 December 2014 and launched four months later on 25 April 2015.[8] A series of builders sea trials commenced from 29 March 2015 and were completed by 1 July 2016.[8] The finalisation of electrical elements and the installation of Multi-Cable Transit insulation, as per new legislative regulations, caused a delay in the ship's delivery to the UK. On 5 February 2017, the ship departed South Korea for delivery to the UK, making stopovers at Yokosuka, Japan and Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. The ship transited the Panama Canal into the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in Falmouth, England on 31 March 2017.[8][9] The ship was drydocked in Falmouth Docks for fitting out to be carried out by A&P Group on 27 April 2017. On 10 May 2017, a crane collapsed beside the ship whilst she was drydocked, however the vessel was not damaged in the incident.[10]

Tidespring sailed from Falmouth for final evaluation trials on 1 September 2017 which included her first visit to Gibraltar, first of class flying trials and her first replenishment at sea (RAS) with RFA Wave Knight.[11][12][13][14] She was officially accepted into the RFA on 27 November 2017.[15]

Operational history
December 2017: RFA Tidespring in the Firth of Clyde, with the ferry Loch Striven passing by.
Tidespring passing HMS Queen Elizabeth in May 2021

The ship's first scheduled replenishment at sea was planned to be with HMS Queen Elizabeth on 26 February 2018, however the full procedure — which was the first ever RAS for both ships — had to be abandoned due to bad weather. Tidespring and Queen Elizabeth instead carried out a full simulation of the scenario.[16] In April, the ship participated in the bi-annual Exercise Joint Warrior, a large-scale NATO military exercise held off the coast of Scotland.

The ship underwent a maintenance refit at Cammell Laird's shipyard in Birkenhead in March 2019. A year later, the ship was involved in the largest Royal Navy response to a fleet of Russian warships in the North Sea.[17][18] In September 2020, the ship accompanied HMS Sutherland during sea drills in the Barents Sea alongside ships of the Danish, Norwegian and American navies.[19]

References
  1. "FOI(A) regarding the Royal Navy" (PDF). What do they know?. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  2. "Tide Class MARS Tanker". BMT. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  3. "DSME Announced as Winning Bid for Royal Navy's MARS Tanker Competition". Defencepro Daily. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  4. "Kelvin Hughes to supply equipment for 4 MARS tankers vessels for Royal Fleet Auxiliary". navyrecognition.com. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  5. "Last ditch defence – the Phalanx close-in weapon system in focus". Navy Lookout. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  6. "The all-rounder – the 30mm Automated Small Calibre Gun in focus". Navy Lookout. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  7. "Lady Sponsor Announced for RFA Tidespring". Royal Navy. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  8. "RFA Tidespring". Historical RFA. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  9. "Royal Fleet Auxiliary's new tanker arrives in UK for customisation work sustaining 300 jobs". Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  10. "Major incident as crane collapses in Cornwall". BBC News. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  11. "Royal Fleet Auxiliary: Tankers". TheyWorkForYou. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  12. "Navy and Fleet ships make up bulk of work at docks". The Packet. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  13. "RFA Tidespring first visit to Gibraltar". Retrieved 2017-11-16.
  14. "First helicopter deck landing for RFA Tidespring". Retrieved 2017-11-16.
  15. "Royal Fleet Auxiliary Welcomes RFA Tidespring to the Fleet". Royal Navy. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  16. "Double first as HMS Queen Elizabeth and RFA Tidespring meet up at sea". Royal Navy. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  17. "Royal Navy escorts nine Russian warships away from UK waters". The Telegraph. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  18. "Royal Navy shadows Russian warships in the North Sea and Channel off Kent coast". KentOnline. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  19. "British warships extend their northern reach for Barents Sea drill". DefenseNews. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
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