14th April 2025 at 12:57pm
The crew of Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker RFA Tidespring are getting ready to deploy alongside HMS Prince of Wales on the Carrier Strike Group 25 (CSG 25) deployment.
It is the Royal Navy’s biggest deployment for four years, and the Tide-class vessel, one of four large oilers built specifically for such missions, is assigned to the Carrier Strike Group.
HMS Prince of Wales will lead the deployment, heading for Japan and Australia during an eight-month-long mission.
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RFA Tidespring is now part of the support element of the deployment, which also sees a Norwegian variant of the Tide ships, HNoMS Maud, joining the group.
The 39,000-tonne ship has spent most of 2025 in Birkenhead undergoing maintenance and upgrades to prepare her for the mission.
This includes specialist biofouling work on the hull to make sure no invasive species are transferred by the ship to other parts of the globe.
In addition, the ship and her crew have undergone extensive training off the south coast.
Commodore Sam Shattock, head of the RFA, said the service has a “proud history” of supporting operations for the Navy and partners, and this deployment will be no different.
“The RFA will play its part during the Carrier Strike Group deployment to sustain the UK’s expeditionary maritime and security capabilities in key strategic regions; reinforcing our nation’s presence and support to international partners,” he said.
“I wish the supporting RFA ships and people all the best for the deployment and look forward to welcoming them home at the end of the deployment.”
Without the RFA, the Navy would be largely confined to domestic waters, with warships relying on the auxiliary fleet for fuel, ammunition, spare parts, water, engineering support and much more.
This is all provided ‘on the go’, without the ships having to put into port every few days.
The ships and aircraft are expected to use 45 million litres of fuel, with the participating warships alone expected to sail more than 33,000 miles.
At 39,000 tonnes, the Tide-class ships are second only to the Royal Navy’s carriers in size and were built specifically to support the strike groups.
When fully laden, the tankers carry 19 million litres of fuel for ships and aircraft, more than enough to fill seven Olympic-sized swimming pools, and can deliver upwards of 800,000 litres in an hour – enough to fill the tanks of more than 14,500 family cars.
The ships also carry more than one million litres of fresh water and there is space for up to eight shipping containers of spare parts, disaster relief kits, and food.
The flight deck is large enough for all UK military helicopters and the hangar can accommodate a Royal Navy Merlin or Wildcat – they frequently embark to support frontline operations, which include submarine hunting, targeting drug smuggling and providing aid after a natural disaster.
And given the size of the deployment, the regular crew of around 60 will swell to more than 100 for much of the time away.
Instead of 1,300-plus meals per week, the team in the galley will be expected to serve up more than 2,100 at peak times.
In the later stages, the helicopter support vessel RFA Argus, which has the UK Armed Forces’ sole large hospital facility afloat, is also set to take part.
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