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| RFA Tiderace (A137) | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | RFA Tiderace (A137) |
| Ship country | United Kingdom |
| Ship operator | Royal Fleet Auxiliary |
| Ship builder | DSME |
| Ship status | Active |
RFA Tiderace (A137) is a Tide-class replenishment tanker that serves with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in support of the Royal Navy. Built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence strategic sustainment programme, she provides fuel, stores and logistical support to carrier strike groups, frigates and destroyers on long-range deployments. Tiderace has been involved in multinational exercises, peacetime logistics, and contingency operations across the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Indo-Pacific.
Tiderace was ordered as part of a four-ship Tide-class programme designed under the United Kingdom Defence Equipment and Support acquisition framework to replace the older Dale-class replenishment tankers and RFA Olwen (A122), incorporating commercial tanker design elements used by Shell plc and BP to achieve civil classification by Lloyd's Register. The hull form and double-hull arrangements reflect International Maritime Organization regulations enacted after the Exxon Valdez oil spill and influenced by standards from MARPOL protocols and SOLAS conventions. Construction took place at the Daewoo shipyard in Okpo near Geoje during a period marked by industrial partnerships between BAE Systems and South Korean shipbuilders, with steelwork and outfitting guided by technical exchanges with the Defence Equipment and Support and A&P Group.
Tiderace employs a diesel-electric propulsion plant derived from commercial tanker practice, integrating engines from manufacturers such as MAN SE and auxiliary systems from ABB Group to power azimuth thrusters and bow thruster systems similar to those found on Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier support vessels. Designed for sustained transoceanic operations, her range and endurance enable accompaniment of carrier strike groups between Faslane and forward bases like Gibraltar and Diego Garcia, while station-keeping capabilities support alongside replenishment with HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08), HMS Prince of Wales (R09), and other units during Joint Expeditionary Force exercises.
While primarily a logistics asset, Tiderace is fitted with self-defence systems compatible with Defence Equipment and Support prescriptions, including close-in weapon systems and small-calibre mounts procured under programmes involving MBDA and Thales Group sensors for situational awareness. Electronic warfare suites and decoy launchers reflect integration with Navy Command’s layered defence concept used alongside Type 45 destroyer escorts and Type 23 frigate countermeasures. Communication suites meet interoperability standards for NATO task groups such as Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 and allow secure links with United States Navy carrier strike groups and headquarters like NATO Allied Maritime Command.
Tiderace entered service supporting Operation Shader support rotations and later participated in multinational exercises including Exercise Joint Warrior and Cougar deployments, delivering fuel and stores to ships from navies such as the United States Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and French Navy. Her operational profile has included transits via strategic chokepoints like the Suez Canal and Strait of Hormuz to support task forces operating in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf, and logistical visits to allied ports including Singapore, Kiel, and Falmouth. During peacetime humanitarian responses she has worked alongside Royal Fleet Auxiliary Sir Tristram-class vessels and agencies including UK Maritime Trade Operations and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Scheduled refits at Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport and commercial yards such as Cammell Laird and A&P Tyne have addressed fatigue, replenishment-at-sea equipment, and habitability improvements, with upgrades to fuel-handling rigs, replenishment booms manufactured to MOD Defence Standards, and retrofits to communications to align with NATO Cooperative Engagement Capability concepts. Planned mid-life capability injections considered enhancements to defensive sensors and the installation of additional aviation facilities to better support Merlin and Wildcat helicopter operations in line with interoperability with Fleet Air Arm doctrine.
Tiderace's construction and delivery timeline attracted scrutiny in parliamentary questions to the House of Commons and reviews by National Audit Office over cost, schedule and industrial relations involving South Korean yards and UK suppliers, echoing debates surrounding previous acquisitions like the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier programme. Operationally, like other auxiliaries she has been scrutinised in media coverage referencing freedom of navigation transits and logistic posture in contested areas such as the South China Sea and Gulf of Aden, raising discussion in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and among think tanks including the Royal United Services Institute. No major loss-of-life incidents have been publicly recorded; reported defects and delays prompted remedial action under Defence Equipment and Support oversight and subsequent yard refits.
Category:Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships Category:Tide-class replenishment oilers Category:Ships built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering