Tanks For Everything: RFA Tidespring Ready For Far-East Mission

Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker RFA Tidespring is poised to play a key supporting role in Operation Highmast  — the Royal Navy’s 2025 Indo-Pacific mission.

RFA Tidespring will make up part of the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) on the eight-month deployment, the Royal Navy’s biggest in the last four years.

Operation Highmast will start towards the end of this month, with aircraft carrier and current RN flagship HMS Prince of Wales scheduled to set sail from Portsmouth on April 22.

She will meet up with the rest of the flotilla off the coast of Cornwall: the CSG is expected to include Type 23 frigates HMS Portland and HMS Iron Duke, Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless and an Astute-class submarine.

The supply ships offering logistical support throughout will be Tide-class large oiler RFA Tidespring, and a Norwegian tanker, HNoMS Maud; helicopter support vessel RFA Argus will join the CSG later on.

As per a recent Royal Navy press statement, the 39,000-tonne RFA Tidespring has just completed a programme of maintenance, upgrades, and crew training. The oiler can carry up to 19 million litres of fuel which can be delivered at rates in excess of 800,000 litres per hour. She can also carry more than 1 million litres of fresh water, as well as up to eight shipping containers for spare parts, disaster relief kits, and food.

Head of the RFA Commodore Sam Shattock commented: “The RFA has a proud history of supporting and sustaining the Royal Navy and international partners on operations all over the world.

“The RFA will play its part during the Carrier Strike Group deployment to sustain the U.K.’s expeditionary maritime and security capabilities in key strategic regions; reinforcing our nation’s presence and support to international partners.

“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.”

A Royal Norwegian Navy frigate will also sail with the CSG for its entire voyage. While Norway is the only foreign nation joining for the full duration, in total 12 other nations, including Canada and Spain, will be supporting the deployment across the course of the eight-month mission.

En route, the CSG will participate in Exercise Neptune Strike under NATO command in the Mediterranean testing high-end maritime strike capabilities. Further exercises and port visits will follow in the Indian Ocean, with partners including the U.S., India, Singapore, and Malaysia.

The CSG will also link up with 19 partner nations for Exercise Talisman Sabre near Australia, train alongside the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, and conduct a port visit to India.

• You can read more details about RFA Tidespring on the Royal Navy website and more about the upcoming Far East mission on the U.K. MoD website