Following HMS Richmond's initial involvement in the operation ‘Iraqi Freedom,’ it was necessary to move away from the Iraqi coast in order to replenish the ship.

Having spent the best part of five days close to the Al Faw peninsula, water, fuel and food stores were running low.

Water had been conserved during the period by rationing; this took the form of isolating the supply to some of the Ship’s showers and taking strict 2 minute showers, not the vice of longer ‘Hollywood Showers’ some are used to. Water is produced onboard in the motor gear room (MGR) on 4 deck by a reverse osmosis plant and is the domain of our Marine Engineering Officer, Lieutenant Commander Moores and his team of artificers and stokers.

Chief Mowlam and Leading Stoker Stevens maintain the reverse osmosis plant on a day to day basis. The plant is not operated in shallow water close to land.

As it became possible for HMS Richmond to temporarily leave the ‘naval frontline,’ our Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Borbone, in conjunction with the Navigator, Lieutenant Hember and the Supply Officer, Lieutenant Commander Bryant, planned a Replenishment At Sea (RAS). Consequently HMS Richmond rendezvoused with USNS PECOS in order to take on fuel and food.

As the RAS took place clear of the coast our reverse osmosis plant had made sufficient amounts of water for our needs. The RAS consisted of two phases. The first phase involved a Vertical Replenishment by helicopter (Vert-Rep).

In view of the man overboard risk posed by the RAS, the swimmer of the watch, OM Clark, closed up in appropriate rig.

The Sea Hawk helicopter from the USNS PECOS brought over stores, under-slung, beneath the aircraft, in relay, passing between the mother ship and HMS Richmond several times.

The Vert-Rep with the Sea Hawk helicopter is an extremely efficient method of moving stores between ship and avoids the use of a heavy wire Jackstay linking the two ships to pass the stores. Once the aircraft had finished this task, the stores were moved from the flight deck to their various inboard destinations.

The flight and supply officers did a great deal of the initial shifting of the embarked stores, which were then passed into the ship by means of a human chain. Steward Lewis took pole position in the chain; LOM Hooper took another important position at the entrance hatch to 2 deck.

Further along 2 deck Leading Chef Oliver and Chef Roberts completed the final handling and stowing of the food stores, luckily both of these men enjoy weight training in their spare time. Whilst this was going on the second phase of the RAS began.

The upper deck team busied themselves with the task of receiving lines from USNS PECOS and arranging the RAS equipment in order to embark fuel. On the bridge Commander Keble, the Navigator – Lieutenant Hember and the officer of the watch, Lieutenant Brown, kept HMS Richmond on a steady course and speed, matching that of USNS PECOS, some 36 metres off her beam.

Meanwhile in the Ship’s Control Centre (SCC) Lieutenant Commander Moores supervised the refuelling aspects of the RAS with Chief Stoker Southern, Charge Chief Cushing, Chief Beddow and PO Hensman, who controlled the throttles in response to orders from the bridge.

Elsewhere, in the machinery spaces were Chief Stuart, PO Sketchley, Leading Stokers Baron and Sabin and Stoker Moir-Young, who were in charge of tank control and auxiliary machinery. Between them they ensured that HMS Richmond's fuel tanks were filled correctly and safely.

Some two hours after the initial lines were passed HMS Richmond left USNS PECOS and headed back to the frontline fully fuelled and victualled.