So last week a £452m deal was finally secured to provide the Royal Fleet Auxiliary with four new fleet tankers. The new tankers will have a displacement of 37,000-tonnes and a length of 200m, and will be assembled in a South Korean shipyard by the South Korean firm Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering. Even though the hulls are being assembled in South Korea, the design of the vessels are of British origin, as they were designed by BMT Defence Services based in Bath, England, and despite the hulls being assembled in South Korea, the vessels will have its internal components fitted by a British company. A number of UK firms did take part in the tender but none of them submitted a final bid to take part.
The four vessels will replace three ageing Rover-class and Leaf-class tankers of the Royal Fleet Auxillery, which were built in the 1960s and 1970s. Replacing three ageing tankers with four more modern and more capable ones doesn't sound like a bad idea to me at all; it means we're receiving four ships at the expense of three much older ones (even if we did at one point plan to purchase six tankers in all, but that was a long time ago when our pot of cash to spend on defence was seemingly bottomless!)
The design of these ships is based on the 'Aegir' concept created by BMT Defence Services in the UK, which emphasises on the ship being environmentally-friendly. The ships will produce fewer carbon dioxide emissions and will be more fuel efficient. Furthermore, they're also double-hulled to prevent environmental pollution from spills caused by damage to the outer hull. This will allow the ships to enter global waters which may be strictly regulated by environmental laws. Unlike the Leaf-class tankers that these ships are replacing, the vessels will also feature a number of aviation facilities, including a large flight deck and a hangar for the storage of a helicopter (up to Merlin size).
Despite the hulls being built in South Korea, the UK will still benefit from some £150m of associated spending, including around £90m spent on systems, design and support services, and around £60m spent on customisation, trials and specialist engineering support. These vessels come at a great price and offer an excellent value for money; had they been built in a UK shipyard, the price would have been considerably higher and so fewer ships would probably have been acquired. It was thought the original order was going to be for two hulls at the very most, so a purchase of four comes as a very nice surprise!
Here are some images showing the Aegir concept which is the design being used to build the tankers.
ABOVE: CGI showing an Aegir tanker replenishing the future French PA2 aircraft carrier. I guess it gives us a depiction of what it may look like replenishing the RN's future Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
ABOVE: An Aegir tanker replenishing a RN Type 45 Destroyer.
The first vessel will see its introduction into Royal Navy service in the year 2016 and the remaining three will enter service in the years after.
These vessels will offer the Royal Navy a degree of improved capabilities for a very good value for money. Unlike the Rover-class and Leaf-class tankers, these Aegir vessels are double-hulled allowing them to enter waters worldwide regardless of any environmental regulations concerned with spillages, and they are also larger and are able to accommodate helicopter operations with a large flight deck and a hangar.
These vessels will offer the Royal Navy a degree of improved capabilities for a very good value for money. Unlike the Rover-class and Leaf-class tankers, these Aegir vessels are double-hulled allowing them to enter waters worldwide regardless of any environmental regulations concerned with spillages, and they are also larger and are able to accommodate helicopter operations with a large flight deck and a hangar.
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