Spanish Navy’s auxiliary oiler and replenishment (AOR) ship ‘Patiño’ (A-14) has carried out its 2,000th RAS, this time with the American destroyer USS Farragut.
The ship is participating in the multinational exercise TGEX 216 off the coast of Florida, USA.
The Patiño has recently integrated into the Royal Canadian Navy to participate in the international manoeuvers TGEX-2016 in the east coast of North America with US Navy and RCN task groups. Throughout the two-month deployment, a 35-strong contingent of Canadian servicemen on board the AOR will receive training during the exercises at sea.
This deployment is the Spanish Navy response to an RCN request given its present lack of replenishment at sea (RAS) capability.
According to the Spanish Navy, the ‘Patiño’ has, since its commissioning in 1995, supplied 295,000 tons of fuel, enough to fill 117 Olympic swimming pools. In the course of these 21 years, the A-14 has participated in many international operations, sailing more than 450,000 nautical miles, the equivalent of a round trip to the moon, or 65 round-the-world trips.