Fleet Solid Support Ship

RFA Fort Rosalie

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary currently operates three solid support ships of the Fort Rosalie and Fort Victoria classes.

• RFA Fort Austin (A386)
• RFA Fort Rosalie (A385)
• RFA Fort Victoria (A387)

As of 2020, only Fort Victoria has undergone refit to enable her to supply the Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers with solids.[2][3] With incompatible rigs, Fort Rosalie and Fort Austin were placed in extended readiness.[4] A programme to replace these ships, named the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) Fleet Solid Support (FSS), commenced in 2017.[1]

A Fleet Solid Support Ship (FSS) concept.

With the introduction of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, a new class of solid support ship will be required to replace the existing ageing and incompatible Fort-class.[5] The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 confirmed that three new large solid support ships would be acquired for the RFA as part of the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) Fleet Solid Support (FSS) programme. Rear Admiral Paul Marshall was appointed its Senior Responsible Officer in February 2019.[6]

The National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) released in September 2017 stipulated that the design and construction of these ships would be subject to an international competition pitting UK firms against those overseas in order to encourage competitiveness.[1] Classified as "non-warships", the vessels were required to be tendered internationally as per Article 346 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).[7][1][8] This received opposition from political parties, including Labour and the Scottish National Party, as well as trade unions, such as GMB and the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, who criticized the potential loss of work for British shipyards. They recommended that the ships be reclassified as "warships" and therefore exempt from the treaty, allowing them to be built in British shipyards.[6] Sir John Parker, whose recommendations formed the basis for the National Shipbuilding Strategy, also criticized the government's approach as "not the right strategic approach" and recommended that "UK-only competition should be considered for future defence-funded vessels".[9]

In 2018, a contract notice was placed for two solid support ships, with a probable option of a third later. The ships required a total cargo capacity of up to 7,000 m³ (250,000 cu ft), the ability to travel at a sustained speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) without resupply, the capability of delivering non-bulk logistic material whilst underway at 12 knots and transfer single loads of up to 5 tonnes.[10] A list of bidders was subsequently selected with a British consortium consisting of Babcock, BAE Systems, Cammell Laird and Rolls-Royce, as well as international bidders consisting of Fincantieri (Italy), Navantia (Spain), Japan Marine United Corporation (Japan) and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) (South Korea).[11] Fincantieri and DSME later withdrew from the bid, however Fincantieri later rejoined.[12][13]

On 5 November 2019, the competition was suspended to ensure "requirements could be met" and a "value for money solution found", which raised hope from trade unions that the competition could be restarted and involve only UK shipyards.[14][7]

On 21 September 2020, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stated the vessels were "warships", effectively confirming they would be built in the United Kingdom.[15][16] On 21 October 2020, it was announced that the competition for the FSS will be re-started in Spring 2021, covering three ships and it will be an international competition but the team must be a led by a British company.[17]

• Tide-class tanker - replenishment tankers which are also part of the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) programme.