Shipyard completes formidable refit
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Fort Rosalie is a fleet stores ship, which means it has a primary role of supplying fuel, food, munitions and just about anything else needed by the Royal Naval fleet while on operations at sea.
The ship’s hull was laid down in 1973 on the Clyde, and launched in 1976 – originally named
RFA Fort Grange
but renamed after confusion with sister ship
Fort George
. Active in the Falklands war, the ship also supported British forces during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, based near the port of Split, Croatia, for several years. The vessel has been well used over the years and was definitely in need of more than a modest revamp.
In fact, commanding officer Captain Bill Tait said the task of refitting of Fort Rosalie was formidable, adding that bringing the ship to the Cammell Laird facilities had one clear objective, to extend the ship’s life for another decade.
Cammell Laird chief executive John Syvret bore this out when he said the £28m refit was one of the biggest the yard has undertaken in the last seven years. In total, the contract employed more than 300 staff over a period of 12 months.
‘This was a complex military refit which required considerable skills and expertise to deliver, said Mr Syvret. ‘It included an upgrade of machinery, engines, operational and communications systems, weaponry and accommodation, making her fit for purpose and able to operate more effectively and efficiently.’ In fact, everything from beds to fire alarms was changed.
Captain Tait added, ‘The whole ship has undergone massive changes, it is now safer, better equipped and more efficient. The refit has increased our ability to service the fleet and the improvements mean we will have increased availability to do the tasks required of us.’
Mr Syvret in turn thanked the Cammell Laird workforce for all their efforts, and went on to say that the yard is now actively pursuing other projects of a similar size. Cammell Laird will be maintaining four ‘clusters’ of RFA ships as part of its £180m, five year MOD contract. The Fort Rosalie cluster includes the RFA Fort George, and the RFA Fort Victoria.
