RFA ''Tiderace'' is a

replenishment tanker A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. The ...

of the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). Ordered from DSME in 2012, she was officially named on 1 December 2016 and was accepted by the Ministry of Defence in June 2017. ''Tiderace'' entered service on 2 August 2018. ''Tiderace'' departed her builders in August 2017 bound for the United Kingdom. She arrived at A&P Falmouth, Cornwall on 25 September 2017 for final fitting out with sensitive military equipment prior to UK sea trials and entry into service in 2018.

Construction

RFA Tiderace Dual RAS with HMS Lancaster and HMS Westminster

''Tiderace'' is the second ship of her class and was ordered on 22 February 2012. Like her sister ships, she was built by DSME in South Korea with her fitting-out carried out by A&P Group in

Falmouth, England Falmouth ( ; kw, Aberfala) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797 (2011 census). Etymology The name Falmouth is of English or ...

. Her steel was first cut on 8 December 2014, prior to being laid down on 8 June 2015. On 10 November 2015, a fire broke out on an

LPG carrier LPG may refer to: Science * Liquefied petroleum gas, a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases * Lipophosphoglycan, a class of molecule found on the surface of some eukaryotes, in particular protozoa Music groups * La Perdita Generacio, a Swedish a ...

being built in the same drydock as ''Tiderace'', killing a shipyard worker and injuring seven others. The incident did not cause any damage to ''Tiderace'' but it caused a delay of nearly three weeks. She was subsequently launched on 28 November 2015 and was officially named by her Lady Sponsor, Mrs Anita Lister, the wife of Royal Navy Vice Admiral Simon R Lister on 1 December 2016. Builder's sea trials were carried out between 13 January and 29 June 2017. On completion of these, ''Tiderace'' sailed from South Korea for delivery to the United Kingdom via the Kanmon Straits of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, the United States naval bases in Yokosuka, Japan and

San Diego, United States San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, the Panama Canal and

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

. She arrived in Falmouth, England on 24 September 2017 prior to entering drydock at A&P Falmouth for UK customisation, including the installation of armour, self-defence weaponry and communications systems. Following this, she began a series of capability assessment trials, replenishment at sea (RAS) trials and first-of-class flying trials which saw her first RAS with Royal Navy

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

and her first flying trials with a

Merlin Mk2 The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter in military and civil use. First flown in 1987, it was developed by a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the United Kingdom and Agusta in Italy in response to national requirement ...

helicopter from

814 Naval Air Squadron 814 Naval Air Squadron or 814 NAS, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, is a squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. It is currently equipped with the AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 anti-submarine warfare helicopter and is based at Royal Naval Air Stati ...

. She officially joined the fleet on 3 August 2018 following a service of dedication in Portland.

Operational history

In April 2019, ''Tiderace'' participated in Exercise Joint Warrior, a large-scale NATO military exercise held in Scotland. She joined a task force led by the Royal Navy's landing platform dock , which also included the destroyer , frigate , landing ship dock and 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines. In January 2020, ''Tiderace'' began a refit and maintenance period at the

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

shipyard in Birkenhead, England. Her six month refit involved "major and invasive" work, including the replacement of all four engine/generator funnel exhausts and an upgrade to her high-pressure saltwater fire-main. After her refit, she made a maiden call to

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tiderace Tide-class tankers 2015 ships Ships built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering