The British Royal Navy’s fast fleet tanker RFA Wave Knight has received its affiliated town, Middlesbrough, after completing 15 years of service.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave-class vessel has sealed a formal bond with the Teesside town in England, UK, with the presentation of certificates to the ship’s company by Middlesbrough mayor Dave Budd.
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Budd said: “We will follow Wave Knight’s exploits with considerable interest, Middlesbrough has a proud history of association with Royal Naval ships, so I’m delighted to formally mark our new affiliation.”
Since 2003, the Wave-class tanker vessel has been supplying fuel to the warships operational with the service and allied nations.
In addition, the 31,500t ship has carried out counter-narcotics and hurricane relief work in the Caribbean.
RFA Wave Knight second-in-command chief officer Pierre Wyatt said: “The captain is very keen to bring the ship in Middlesbrough as soon as we can.
“There are a lot of people from the north-east working for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and it’s important for them to feel a real association between their ship and their local towns and cities and especially a place steeped in maritime heritage like Middlesbrough.”
Currently, RFA Wave Knight is about to complete its upgrade and refit programme at the Cammell Laird yard in Birkenhead, England.
Last month, Cammell Laird won a new future in-service support (FISS) contract to maintain nine ships of the RFA flotilla.
The RFA Wave Knight tanker was built at BAE Systems’ Marine Barrow shipyard and launched with the service in September 2000.
