John Currin
15 years in Royal New Zealand Navy
HMS Tamar scores a first as she successfully links up with US submarine support ship
20th June 2024 at 2:40pm
HMS Tamar berthed alongside the USS Emory S Land and the Australian survey ship HMAS Leeuwin (Picture: Royal Navy)
HMS Tamar has successfully berthed alongside a US Navy submarine support ship in an experimental link-up which could see the Royal Navy vessel extend her operations.
Tamar, an offshore patrol vessel, used the USS Emory S Land not just as a floating quayside or jetty, but also ‘plugged in’ to the vessel’s fuel, water and power supply.
The process known as rafting up also involved a third ship, the Australian survey vessel HMAS Leeuwin, as the trio of ships linked up in Cairns in Queensland.
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The US Navy’s Emory S Land acts as a tender, normally providing forward support to US Navy hunter-killer nuclear submarines.
When no naval base is available, she sustains operations, providing electricity, water, consumables, spare parts, repairs and engineering assistance.
She also sustains their crews, offering medical and dental aid, mail, food and administration.
The UK does the same for the Royal Navy and US minehunters rather than submarines – operating in the Gulf, using RFA Cardigan Bay to provide similar facilities to mine warfare vessels, extending their operations.
The Royal Navy said: “All three allied navies were keen to see whether the Emory S Land could do for larger surface vessels what it already does for the Silent Service.”
HMS Tamar is seven times smaller than the tender, and as both vessels were new to each other this was not simply a case of Tamar turning up and berthing alongside the US ship.
The three navies used scale drawings and extensive discussions to make sure the link-up of the three ships passed without incident.
Once Tamar was safely berthed, she was joined outboard by Australian survey ship HMAS Leeuwin.
Connections were subsequently made to prove that fuel, water and electricity could be provided to both ships from the US tender.
In April, HMS Tamar was in Fiji where she had been helping the local government curb illegal fishing and drug smuggling.
The River-class patrol vessel was working with the Fijian Ministry of Fisheries, the Republic of Fiji Navy Ship Riders and the Royal New Zealand Navy.
HMS Tamar can perform a variety of roles, from intercepting drug-traffickers and smugglers to protecting UK territorial waters and providing humanitarian assistance in the wake of a disaster.
US Navy christens new Navajo-class T-ATS
Bollinger Shipyards
June 13, 2024, by Fatima Bahtić
The U.S. Navy has christened its latest Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ship (T-ATS) USNS Cherokee Nation at Bollinger Shipyards in Houma, Louisiana.
As informed, the ceremony took place on June 10, 2024. The second Bollinger-built ship of the navy’s Navajo class, the USNS Cherokee Nation is named to honor the Cherokee people.
The Navajo class is operated by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command and provides ocean-going tug, salvage, and rescue capabilities to support fleet operations.
T-ATS replaces and fulfills the capabilities previously provided by the Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug (T-ATF) and Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ships (T-ARS) class ships.
“Bollinger is honored to celebrate the christening of the newest T-ATS ship alongside the U.S. Navy and the Cherokee Nation,” said Ben Bordelon, President and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards.
“The USNS Cherokee Nation and other Navajo-class vessels are multi-purpose powerhouse vessels,” said Vice Admiral Scott Gray, Commander, U.S. Navy Installations Command.
“The new Navajo-class ships will help ensure our sailors and marines receive critical, timely support to stay in the fight around the globe and the US Navy stands ready to respond quickly if disaster strikes.”
The USNS Cherokee Nation is the second of ten planned Navajo-class T-ATS. The contract includes a total of five vessels to be built at Bollinger Houma Shipyards, each to be named in honor of a federally recognized Native American tribe.
Navajo-class ships will be capable of towing U.S. Navy ships, including aircraft carriers, and will have 6,000 square feet of deck space for embarked systems.
In addition to the USNS Cherokee Nation (T-ATS 7), Bollinger is also constructing USNS Navajo (T-ATS 6), USNS Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek (T-ATS 8), USNS Lenni Lenape (T-ATS 9) and USNS Muscogee Creek Nation (T-ATS 10).