The last ship of those which sailed with the original Naval Task Group to the Gulf in January is due back in a British port for the first time in ten months.

RFA tanker Brambleleaf was due back in Portland, Dorset, today, but was reported to be slightly behind schedule because of adverse weather conditions.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary sailed from Devonport on January 6, joining the Task Group as it headed for the Mediterranean and then, as the situation in the Gulf deteriorated, she sailed on with the other ships through the Suez Canal and into the Middle East.

Brambleleaf was one of 14 RFA ships engaged in Operation Telic.

During the conflict in Iraq Brambleleaf and her sister RFAs Bayleaf and Orangeleaf were under the direct command of the US Command, and the three tankers provided vital fuel for warships, shuttling back and forth between Jebel Ali and the Iraqi coast to resupply Coalition ships in the northern Gulf.

Many of the refuellings at sea were close to the Iraqi coast during fighting ashore.

Brambleleaf also supported American ships of the Fifth Fleet, including warships of the four aircraft strike groups headed by the giant carriers USS Abraham Lincoln, Nimitz, Kittyhawk and Constellation, and the expeditionary strike groups led by Tarawa, Nassau, ATF East and Iwo Jima.

The Commanding Officer of Brambleleaf, Nigel Jones, said: “The ship’s company is looking forward to our return to the UK after a very hot and productive period in the Middle East.

“Whilst over the ten-month deployment there have been many changes to the ship’s company, Brambleleaf itself has been at the forefront of support in all operations associated with the war in Iraq and subsequent control of shipping in Iraq territorial waters.”

Upon leaving the Gulf the American senior officer in charge of logistics support during Operation Telic thanked Brambleleaf, saying: “Your enthusiasm, responsiveness, flexibility and ‘I can do’ attitude epitomises the words ‘team player’.

“Fifth Fleet successes can be directly attributed to your hard work and diligent efforts providing fuel for the fight.”

Once hostilities were over and the majority of Royal Navy and RFA ships of the Task Group had headed home, Brambleleaf remained in the Gulf region as Ready Tanker Arabian Gulf – a station maintained by the RFA full-time, providing a tanker to supply RN and coalition warships on duty.

The tanker is due to undergo a brief period of maintenance before sailing to Devonport. Because the ship rotates its crews during deployments the current crew was not in Brambleleaf when she sailed in January.

Since leaving the UK at the beginning of the year, the ship has steamed 42,000 miles, discharged 60,000 tonnes of oil, and refuelled ships 95 times.