Dubai: Crew aboard the UK’s one-stop replenishment ship Fort Victoria say they couldn’t provide logistics and supplies to an international maritime military fleet patrolling the Gulf without the exceptional Port Rashid services it enjoys several times a year.
Now, berthed in Dubai for a maintenance layover akin to an “oil change” of sorts, Fort Victoria is stocking up on favourite food stuffs such as sausages, British bread and tomato sauce for countless navy crews serving on the region’s high seas.
Captain Kevin Rimell, the vessel’s commanding officer, said the ship’s “replenishment at sea” mission since its deployment to the Gulf in June 2016 to provide food, fuel and spare parts to allied ships has benefited immensely from the warm welcome his ship receives from Dubai port authorities.
“From a maintenance perspective, Dubai has the best support in the region,” Rimell told Gulf News on the bridge of Fort Victoria during a media tour of the 204-metre long, 31,505-tonne supply ship on Tuesday.
The veteran captain said that Dubai’s location and connections greatly bolster “our ability to bring in stores from other regions and the United Kingdom. This is the best place for us.”
The ‘Fort Vic’ is one of the largest UK supply ships tasked by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) to the 31-partner nations Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) security armada protecting the free movement of oil tanker shipments.
Keeping allied ships fully provisioned is critical in the CMF’s patrolling of 1,000km long Gulf waters to maintain the Strait of Hormuz through which one-third of all the world’s oil is transported by oil tankers from a region which holds than half of the world’s proven oil reserves.
In addition to slinging one-tonne supply palettes along 45-metre-long rigs strung between steaming allied ships, Fort Victoria also houses a three-bay chopper hangar, two-spot landing pad, an aviation maintenance facility and can serve as an ideal military command platform when needed, Rimell said.
First Officer Graham Hughes said Fort Victoria has a ship’s company of 125 personnel and can host up to 140 extra personnel in operations for up to 17 days at sea at a time.
With six decks below in the hold and a further six above decks, the ship can hold up to 40 tonnes of stores, 50 tonnes of munitions, 11,000 cubic metres of diesel fuel and vast amounts of aviation fuel.
To protect her valuable cargo, Fort Victoria touts turreted, rapid-fire guns up to 20mm calibre positioned at various points on the vessel to defend her from attack, Hughes said, with the assistance of a Royal Marines guard permanently assigned to the ship.
Ship shape
The Fort Victoria is one of the UK’s largest replenishment ships to support the Royal Navy
Length: 204 metres
Beam: 30.5 metres
Draws: 9.5 metres
Displacement: 31,505 tonnes
Maximum speed: 21 knots
Source: Fort Victoria
