The River Mersey - RFA

There are no RFA (Royal Fleet Auxiliary) ships based on the Mersey. Some of the ships do visit the shipyards for maintenance. These ships have a support role so they may carry defensive weaponry.

Some of the landing craft have the HMS prefix, while others have the RFA prefix. For simplicy I have grouped them together on the Royal Navy page

RFA - Fast Tankers

 A389 - RFA Wave Knight

RFA - Tankers

 A109 - RFA Bayleaf
A110 - RFA Orangeleaf

RFA - Replenishment

 A338 - RFA Fort George
A385 - RFA Fort Rosalie

RFA - Repair

 A132 - RFA Diligence


RFA Fast Tankers

There are several RFA tankers which allow the Royal Navy to refuel while at sea. These tankers have space on the flight deck for 1 merlin helicopter.


A389 - RFA Wave Knight
In April (2007) My girlfriend (now my wife) Dawn was going with her Mum to Liverpool. She spotted Wave Knight heading to a Birkenhead shipyard.
Built Oct 2002. Dimensions (196 * 28 * 9.97) with a displacement of 31,500 and a speed of 18 knots.


RFA Tankers

There are several older RFA tankers which allow the Royal Navy to refuel while at sea. The tankers carry mainly diesel and aviation fuel but they also can carry some food and stores.
Dimensions 170.7 * 25.9 * 11 with a displacement of 40,870 tonnes with a speed of 15 knots.

A109 - RFA Bayleaf
Built at the Cammel Laird shipyard in 1981 and received into service 1982.
Had a major refit 2008/2009 in Wallasey Docks.


 A110 - RFA Orangeleaf
I spotted the tanker in the shipyard in October 2006. The tanker was still in the shipyard in December.

Fleet Replenishment Ships

There are several fleet replenishment ships of the Fort Class. The are two types:
a) fleet oilers and dry stores (Fort Victoria and RFA Fort George)
b) dry stores (RFA Fort Rosalie and Fort Austin)


A338 - RFA Fort George
Launched in 1993 with a displacement of 31,565 tons (204 * 30 * 9.75) with a maximum speed of 21 knots.
Designed to resupply warships with stores and fuel using the four replenishment at sea (RAS) rigs midships. There is also a large two spot flight deck at the stern of the ship.
I spotted the ship in the shipyard in November 2006. In December (2006) I saw that there was work being done on its flight deck.


 A385 - RFA Fort Rosalie
Launched in 1976 and entered service in 1978 with a gross tonnage of 16,000 (185 * 24 * 8.3).
I spotted the ship in Wallasey Docks at the end of her refit in January 2009.




Forward Repair Ships

This class of ship is designed to support and repair ships without the ships having to return to their home port.

A132 - RFA Diligence
Built as a civilian ship. It was chartered during the Falklands Conflict and repaired many ships. She was purchased by the government in 1983.
There are several roles this ship can provide: A floating berth for submarines, repair and maintenance of vessels and a command platform for mine clearance operations.
In 1990 she repaired several ships during the Gulf War such as American ships damaged by mines.
Dimensions (112*21* 6.4) with displacement of 10,765 tonnes with a speed of 10 knots and a flight deck on the roof of the bridge.
In December (2006) I heard that she will be coming to a local shipyard for major refit costing 16 million pounds.
In January (2007) I took a picture.

In October (2007) I saw her leaving Birkenhead/Wallasey Docks.




Various

I think the one shown below belongs to 'Customs and Excise' and is probably used to stop illegal imports.


Royal Navy warships may not appear as impressive as a WWII battleships, but in the Summer of 2002 a frigate gave several Carribean drugs runners quite a shock.


The next ship is not a military one, it is a ro-ro ferry. It didn't get on this page by accident. To find out why it is on this page read on... In 2003 there was another conflict in the Gulf. The allies invaded Iraq to topple the dictator and to stabilise the region. One of the ferries which usually carries passengers and freight between Liverpool and Dublin was hired to transport tanks and heavy equipment from Europe to the Gulf.




In May 2005 a customs boat visited canning dock. Although technically not a military vessel, the small cannon on the bow should make smugglers think twice.



The River Mersey - Shipping
Battle of the Atlantic celebrations
Historic Warships - UK
Historic Warships - US

Related Topics
Royal Navy - ships seen in the River Mersey
Royal Navy - official site
Royal Navy - Evacuation from the Lebanon
Shipping Cross Reference
The Mersey River Festival
The Albert Dock
Places of Interest
Getting Places
Wallasey Docks... including historic warships


Map Index.