The third of four Royal Fleet Auxiliary Tide-class tankers has been named in a ceremony at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shipyard in South Korea.
RFA Tidesurge was named in a ceremony on August 29, attended by Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Jonathan Woodcock, British ambassador to South Korea Charles Hay and a number of government and company officials.
The ship is set to be delivered to UK next year.
The lead ship in the class, RFA Tidespring, reached UK waters in April 2017, after a nine-month delay. The second tanker, RFA Tiderace, is currently en route to UK, getting underway from Okpo, South Korea, early August.
The Tide-class tankers – RFA Tidespring, RFA Tiderace, RFA Tidesurge and RFA Tideforce – are 201 meters long, have 29 meter beam and displace more than 37,000 tonnes.
Designed by BMT Defence Services, the tankers will maintain the Royal Navy’s ability to refuel at sea and will provide fuel to warships and task groups. They will support deployed amphibious, land and air forces close to the shore and will have the ability to operate helicopters.