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Orangeleaf in Familiar Territory
Royal Fleet Auxiliary support tanker Orangeleaf began life
as a commercial ship.
Her first incarnation was as Hudson Progress. then as the
Balder London, but it was not unitl May 1984 that the ship,
built at the Cammell Laird yard in Birkenhead, was brought
into the Ministry of Defence fleet.
Orangeleaf went into a major refit in the autumn of 1985 on
the Tyne, when she was fully fitted with the gantries and
associated equipment to be able to carry out RASs - replenishments
at sea.
She was given extra accommodation, and extensively fitted
with electronics and navigational equipment, and was back
in business in 1986.
Although she can provide some food and stores support, her
main roles are to resupply warships at sea with furnace fuel
oil, diesel and aviation fuel, and to make bulk movements
of fuel between MOD depots.
Orangeleaf is capable of refuelling two ships at once, one
on each side, and in rough weather a safer alternative can
be used, where the refuelling hose is trailed astern to be
picked up by the receiving warship.
Unlike a number of other RFA tankers and supply ships, the
Appleleaf class is not equipped to opperate helicopters.
Orangeleaf took up her current duties as Arabian Gulf Ready
Tanker in June last year, and is not scheduled to return to
the UK until the middle of next year.
Her role in the Gulf is to support Royal Navy ships - her
main customers being the RN Armilla Patroll ships and RN task
groups with pass through - although she also refuels warships
of allied and friendly nations from large American vessels
to smaller ships from nations such as Australia, Canada, the
Netherlands, France and Oman.
Dubai is her most frequent port of call, though she is also
seen in Kuwait, Doha, Fujairah, Salalh and Jebel Ali.
The region is familiar territory to the ship - she saw service
with the RN Task Force during the Gulf WAr.
The current Orangeleaf is the third tanker to bear the name.
The first was a 6,000-ton ship which saw service from 1917
to 1946, while the second, of 18,000 tonns, was on charter
to the RFA form 1959 to 1978.
(Ship of the Month December 2000)
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