AFTER taking in nearly 40,000 miles on a 195-day deployment, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship returned to West Fife recently.

The 33,675-tonne RFA Fort Victoria arrived back at the Defence Munitions (DM) base in Crombie. 

While deployed, the vessel conducted 44 replenishments at sea with ships from six different nations. She also conducted the first operational replenishment for the Queen Elizabeth class.

Commanding Officer, Captain Chris Clarke, said RFA Fort Victoria had proven to be an “indispensable” part of the Carrier Strike Group.

“She and other RFAs are the means by which the Royal Navy has the flexibility to manoeuvre and sustain itself to potentially strike at a time and place of its own choosing,” he said. 

“Over the seven-month deployment we have steamed just under 40,000 miles, we’ve crossed the equator, had four port visits, transferred 27,000 tonnes of fuel and 350 tonnes of ammunition, food, spares and provisions while underway at sea.

“Crombie is, in many ways, RFA Fort Victoria’s spiritual home. That’s why it is entirely fitting that after a long and arduous deployment away from the UK, we’ve returned to the welcoming atmosphere of this depot where we set out from earlier in the year.”

“We have also undertaken 635 helicopter landings from our three embarked Merlin Mk4s of 845 Naval Air Squadron.”

Captain Clarke and his 120-strong crew on board Fort Victoria set off from the Fife depot in late April this year. She and her sister vessel, RFA Tidespring, joined the Carrier Strike Group for operations in the Indo-Pacific region.

Made up of fast jets, helicopters, destroyers, frigates, nuclear-powered submarines, RFA support ships and the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers, the Strike Group acts as a self-contained force that can work independently or as part of wider operations. 

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary plays a crucial role, allowing vessels the ability to stay at sea for long periods by replenishing stores of fuel, ammunition, food and other essentials while remaining on the oceans.