LONDON - The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense (MoD) received the first of what will eventually be four new Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) carrier support ships on January 17. The ship arrives a year late after experiencing teething pains at the shipbuilder, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), in South Korea. Following a stretch of customization with A&P yard at Falmouth and capability assessment trials in the U.K. the ship, RFA Tidespring, is expected to enter service towards the end of 2017.
The problem is that this ship was slated to enter service in September 2016 as part of an effort to replace the single-hulled ships no longer up to international standards.
The new 37,000-ton four-hulled oil tankers being built for the Royal Navy's logistical and operational support body were purchased for roughly $600 million in 2012 as part of the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) program, which aims to provide logistical ships for the Royal Navy and deployed maritime task forces through the replacement of the RFA's legacy vessels. The procurement garnered criticism for the path chosen by the MoD: instead of opting for a locally-sourced contract to aid domestic shipbuilders the ministry put the tender out for international bidding. Though designed by Britain's BMT Defense Services, the ships are instead being built by DSME.
The original delivery schedule foresaw all four ships being handed over to the MoD by April 2017. Instead the revamped timeline is for all ships to be in the MoD fold by year-end 2018. Once in service with the RFA the new tankers will carry ship and aviation fuel for the Royal Navy, as well as hold ammunition and solid stores.
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