RFA Mounts Bay

RFA Mounts Bay

 

 

 

RFA Mounts Bay at Portland with her new engine exhausts

 

Previous name:
Subsequent name:

Official Number:                     9240770 

Class:                                      BAY CLASS Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary)

Pennant No:                            L3008

Laid down:                              14 January 2002
Builder:                                    BAE Systems, Govan
Launched:                               19 April 2004
Into Service:                            13 July 2006
Out of service:
Fate:

 

Items of historic interest involving this ship: -

 

Background Data:

 

In  April 2000 an Invitation to Tender was issued for the design and build of 2 Alternative Landing Ships Logistics to replace RFA’s SIR PERCIVALE and SIR GERAINT which were to enter service in 2004 and 2005. Options would be provided for up to a further 3 vessels to replace the remainder of the ageing LSL,s. 3 U.K. yards submitted bids - Appledore Shipbuilders Limited, BAE Systems and Swan Hunter (Tyneside) Ltd. On 26 October 2000 an official announcement was made that 4  new ships would be built in a £300 million deal and that subject to negotiation of satisfactory terms and conditions, Swan Hunter (Tyneside) Ltd would be selected as lead shipyard for the programme. Two ships would be built at Wallsend with the other two being built to the Swan Hunter design by BAE Systems Marine at Govan. The ships would be based on the very successful Dutch ROTTERDAM design, but enlarged to give greater payload carrying capacity.

 

19 November 2001ordered along with RFA CARDIGAN BAY

14 January 2002 laid down - being built in 7 blocks

19 April 2004 Launched by BAE Systems Marine, Govan as Yard Number 0323 named MOUNTS  BAY. The Lady Sponsor was Lady Band, wife of Admiral Sir Jonathan Band, CinC FLEET. Named after Mounts Bay in Cornwall. When launched she struck a quay wall causing minor damage to her port quarter

May 2005 original in service date

8 September 2005 sailed Scotstoun for 2 weeks of sea trials

15 December 2005 Captain Ross G Ferris OBE RFA appointed as Commanding Officer. Ship accepted and moved to Faslane

7 January 2006 alongside at Faslane undergoing various commissioning tests. A man overboard drill was held involving use of the vessel's Fast Response craft (FRC). 

The FRC was lowered to a position 1 metre above the waterline, at this level the crew prepared the boat for entry into the water by cocking the off-load release hook and releasing the safety chain.

Lowering was then resumed, whereupon the winch was paid out at full speed and was immediately stopped; this caused the davit assembly to visibly judder, which in turn caused the boat to detach from the hook and drop approximately one metre into the water. The crew were shaken but un harmed.

13 January 2006 arrived Portland

29 April 2006 arrived Devonport as part of her First of Class trials

1 June 2006 carried out loading trials with 539 ASRM / 17 Port Regt RCT

11 September until 22 November 2006  took part in the Vela Deployment. In total approximately 3,000 British personnel and 11 ships of the Royal Navy and RFA were involved.

13 July 2006 in service date

25 July 2006 completed her FOST training

8 February 2007 the port Fast Rescue Craft was deployed for training. The automatic release hook did not release and the 2 man crew were thrown into the sea. They were rescued after 10 minutes and returned to the ship unharmed. There was a Marine Accident Investigation.

15 September 2006 service of Dedication held at Falmouth and Operational Command transferred to Fleet

19 September 2006 Arrived Marchwood to load cargo and stores for Operation Vela - the ATG Deployment to Sierra Leone

21 September 2006 Sailed Marchwood on her first deployment - Operation Vela led by the assault ship HMS OCEAN for amphibious operations off the coast of Sierra Leone - along with RFA‘s DILIGENCE, FORT AUSTIN, OAKLEAF (2), SIR BEDIVERE and WAVE KNIGHT (2)

21 November 2006 returned to Marchwood on completion of Operation Vela

8 February 2007 deployed the port Fast Rescue Craft (FRC) for training in Lyme Bay on the South Coast of the UK. The wind was Westerly Force 5 with a moderate WSW’ly swell. The two man crew of the Pacific 22 MkII FRC were expelled from the boat as the boat was lowered into the water with a ship’s speed of 7.5 Knots.

During the launch the RFD Automatic Release Hook (ARH) did not release as the weight came off the fall wire and, as the crew released the painter and applied power to the fast jet boat engine, they did not check that the ARH had released.

Restrained by the fall wire, the FRC listed to starboard and the crew jumped from the boat. The two men, wearing immersion suits, were recovered on board by the second FRC after 10 minutes. They were transferred to the ship’s hospital cold but uninjured.

When the Port FRC was recovered the ARH could not be released from the boat by cocking the hook in the usual way and the hook was forced apart to replace the ARH. The manufacturer’s inspection of the ARH stated that the failure appeared to be due to the build up of sea salt contamination internally and externally causing the mechanism to lock and not release properly.

23 May 2009 sailed the River Tyne

September 2009 Captain Gerrard A Patterson RFA appointed as Commanding Officer

 

Captain G A Patterson RFA

11 January 2010 sailed the Tyne after being berthed at A & P's yard at Hebburn for a full survey

8 February 2010 Assistant Cook David Stephen Trotter discharged dead

25 February 2010 involved with Royal Marine and Army Units in Operation Cold Response at Harstad, Normway

3 April 2011 anchored in the Solent big ships anchorage

29 April 2011 off Plymouth

3 June 2011 berthed in Malta GC

21 June 2011 anchored in the Solent big ships anchorage

5 August 2011 sailed Portsmouth Naval Base

17 October 2011 sailed Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre and anchored in the Solent big ships anchorage off Browndown Camp

9 January 2012 at Portland the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond boarded the ship for a meeting with the Dorset Police to discuss security at the part of the Olympic Games being held locally 

16 January 2012 sailed Faslane Naval Base

9 April 2012 sailed Marchwood Military Port berthing at Porland the same day

12 April 2012 sailed Portland to Plymouth arriving the same day

14 April 2012 sailed Plymouth

16 April 2012 off Greenock Esplanade with Naval units from the Royal Navy, the USA, Denmark, Norway, France, Canada, Germany (FGS Emden - F210, FGS Hessen - F221,  FGS FrankfurtAm Main - A1412) and the Netherlands. Sailed for Exercise Joint Warrior off Scotland

3 May 2012 sailed Plymouth Sound 

4 May 2012 berthed at Marchwood Military Port 

8 May 2012 sailed Marchwood Military Port

11 May 2012 berthed at Portland

14 May 2012 sailed Portland

 

 

 

Ships of the same name

 

Mounts Bay. (ex Loch Kilbirnie) a frigate of the “Bay” class launched by Pickersgill on the 8 June 1945. She served in the Korean War and was awarded the Korean War 1950 - 53 Battle Honour. Transferred to the Portuguese Navy on the 9 May 1961 and renamed Vasco da Gama.  Sold on the 21 December 1971 for scrap.