| Royal Fleet Auxiliary
vessel Wave Ruler is officially designated a Large Fleet Tanker
– but that is only the start for a ship which has seen
plenty of action in recent months.
Wave Ruler has been Atlantic Patrol Tanker (North) since April,
operating in the Caribbean region in support of Royal Navy
warships and those of allied navies.
The 31,500-ton tanker conducted replenishments at sea (RASes)
with the French, Netherlands and US navies, and with the US
Coast Guard.
She also conducted an historic first RAS for a Mexican Navy
– specifically the frigate ARM Victoria.
The RAS required Wave Ruler to visit the port of Cozumel,
in Mexico, where sailors from the Victoria underwent seamanship
training on the RAS rig, tactical communications, ship handling
and the command and control aspects of the operation –
all under the guidance of RFA personnel.
A few days later both ships were at sea to carry out the successful
RAS, winning praise from the captain of the Victoria.
Beyond refuelling – and Wave Ruler can carry up to 16,000m3
of liquids, including 3,000m3 of aviation fuel – the
tanker has fulfilled a number of other roles.
Her large flight deck makes her an ideal platform for counter-drugs
operations, and she has spent plenty of time operating independently
of other warships.
She has her own Lynx flight embarked, and a small team of
US Coast Guard officers who carry out the boardings of suspect
vessels also count the British auxiliary as home.
To help in this role, Wave Ruler can also operate US Coast
Guard helicopters.
She is also a welcome asset in disaster-relief operations
– as was proved earlier this year when she and Type
23 frigate HMS Richmond tracked the vicious Hurricane Ivan
across the region, clearing up in its wake.
Wave Ruler carries a variety of stores for many eventualities,
and her aircraft and boat capabilities are useful assets.
She was on hand when Ivan smashed into Grenada and Grand Cayman;
in both islands personnel from the auxiliary made up shore
parties which provided technical assistance and medical aid
ashore – vital ‘first aid’ to get power
and communications systems restored to working order.
In Grenada, in particular, personnel from Wave Ruler worked
long hours at the hospital, helping the overstretched staff
there who were treating hundreds of casualties of the storm.
And at Grand Cayman it was Wave Ruler’s boat crews who
provided a valuable service, transporting stores and personnel
ashore from the two British ships through choppy seas.
Wave Ruler will remain in the Caribbean until February, when
she is due to be relieved by her sister Wave Knight.
She will then return to the UK to take a starring role in
the celebrations which will mark the centenary of the RFA,
including participation in the International Fleet Review,
and she will undertake a tour of British ports in July and
August.
Wave Ruler, which was launched on the Clyde in February 2001,
is the second auxiliary to bear the name.
The first was a tanker originally launched in January 1946
at the Furness Shipbuilding yard on Teeside for the Ministry
of Transport as the Empire Evesham.
She and her Empire sisters soon took on the Wave prefixes,
and Wave Ruler remained a replenishment tanker, though many
of her sisters were used as freighters.
The first Wave Ruler had a full displacement of 16,650 tons,
a length of 425ft and a speed of 15 knots.
She took part in the atomic tests at Christmas Island, and
in the early 1950s ran aground off Wales.
She became an oil depot ship in 1971, and was sold in December
1975, having never had the chance to win a Battle Honour –
an opportunity which has not yet presented itself to the current
ship either.
(Ship of the Month December 2004)
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