The Wave-class tankers are a class of
fast fleet tankers in service with the
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...
. The class is tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
vessels around the world. There are two ships in the class, and . The ships were ordered to replace the aging s and .
The two vessels have seen service in a number of locations, including anti-drug and hurricane relief operations in the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
,
anti-piracy activities around the
Horn of Africa, and deterrent patrols in the
South Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
. As of early 2022, both ships were earmarked for "extended readiness" status (i.e. uncrewed reserve).
History
A contract was placed for the vessels in 1997 with
Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd
Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Ltd (VSEL) was a shipbuilding company based at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria in northwest England that built warships, civilian ships, submarines and armaments. The company was historically the Naval Construct ...
(Marconi Marine VSEL). Construction of ''Wave Knight'' began in 1998 at VSEL's
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...
yard and the ship was
launched in 2000.
With the acquisition of
Marconi Electronic Systems
Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of General Electric Company (GEC). It was demerged from GEC and bought by British Aerospace (BAe) on 30 November 1999 to form BAE Systems. GEC then renam ...
and its Marconi Marine subsidiary in 1999
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marcon ...
became
BAE Systems. BAE now owns VSEL in Barrow and the
Yarrow
''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal.
The ...
and
Govan
Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...
shipyards on the
Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
. BAE transferred the construction of ''Wave Ruler'' to Govan in 2000 and the vessel was launched in 2001. Both vessels were
commissioned in 2003.
Design
The ships have the capability to supply fuel and other liquid cargo to vessels using
replenishment rigs on port and starboard beams and through a Hudson reel-type stern rig. When providing support for amphibious operations, the ships are also able to deliver fuel to
dracones positioned alongside. The equipment load includes cranes (for stores handling and abeam replenishment), steering and rudder gear, thyristor-controlled winch/windlasses and double drum mooring winches. Up to of liquids and of general solids can be carried. In addition,
reverse-osmosis equipment is fitted enabling the production of of drinkable water per day.
The vessels were designed with
double hulls to prevent or reduce environmental pollution from oil spills if damage is sustained to the outer hull.
The ships can operate a
Merlin HM1 helicopter, or other helicopters of similar size, from a hangar and flight deck at the stern. On deployments to
Atlantic Patrol Task (N) they have typically embarked a Royal Navy
Lynx or a
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
helicopter.
The vessels have a standard crew of 80 Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel with provision for a further 22 Royal Navy personnel to conduct helicopter and weapons systems operations.
They carry a full medical team and sick bay and are capable of distributing 2,000 emergency relief packages in times of crisis.
Construction programme
Future
In June 2018 it was reported by the Brazilian press that the
UK MoD
The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
The MOD states that its principal objectives are to ...
had offered to sell one or both of the Wave-class tankers to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. As early as 2010, BAE Systems had proposed providing Brazil with a variant of the Wave-class, tailored to meet the specific aviation, stores and personnel requirements of the
Brazilian Navy
)
, colors= Blue and white
, colors_label= Colors
, march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco''
, mascot=
, equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious war ...
.
As of June 2020, ''Wave Ruler'' was reported to be in reduced readiness but maintained in good condition and available for reactivation.
In February 2022, it was reported that both tankers would be placed in "extended readiness" (uncrewed reserve).
Gallery
File:RFA Wave Knight (A-389).jpg, ''Wave Knight'' prepares to transfer fuel to the amphibious assault ship during a replenishment at sea.
File:RFA Wave Ruler (A390).jpg, ''Wave Ruler'' underway with a United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin
The Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphin is a twin-engined helicopter operated by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for medevac-capable search and rescue (SAR) and armed Airborne Use of Force missions. It is a variant of the French-built Eurocopter AS3 ...
helicopter embarked
File:Wave Ruler refuels Robert G Bradley.jpg, ''Wave Ruler'' (background) refuels in the Pacific Ocean.
File:US Navy 070409-N-5459S-082 From right to left, RFA Wave Ruler (A390), USS Mahan (DDG 72), CS Almirante Latorre (FFG 14), FGS Sachsen (F 219), and USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) navigate together in formation during an exercise.jpg, ''Wave Ruler'' (foreground), , ''Almirante Latorre'', ''Sachsen'', and navigate in formation.
File:RAF Wave Knight replenishing French frigate Germinal.jpg, ''Wave Knight'' resupplying French frigate ''Germinal''.
References
External links
Video of RFA ''Wave Ruler'' (A390) near Plymouth on 9 October 2009.
{{Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships
Auxiliary replenishment ship classes
Wave Knight
Auxiliary ships of the United Kingdom