Supply-class replenishment oiler explained

The Supply class is a class of replenishment oilers of the Royal Australian Navy, a role that combines the missions of a tanker and stores supply ship. As such they are designated auxiliary oiler replenisher (AOR). They are tasked with providing ammunition, fuel, food and other supplies to Royal Australian Navy vessels around the world. There are two ships in the class, and .^[1] The project is expected to cost anywhere between $1 and $2 billion. Navantia were selected to build a design based on the Spanish Navy's current replenishment vessel, which entered service in 2011.^[2]

Planning

A number of designs were considered by the Australian Government for their replacement tankers, with Navantia competing against the Aegir variant of the built by South Korea's DSME in a restricted tender competition.^{[3] [4]} Navantia's proposal based on Cantabria was announced as the successful design in the Australian tender in March 2016, with an expected in service date for the first of two vessels of late 2019.^[5]

Construction

The class of ships based on Navantia's replenishment oiler were built at the Navantia shipyard in Ferrol, Spain. The first ship, Supply, arrived at Fleet Base West in October 2020 to begin fitting Australia-specific equipment prior to her service entry in April 2021.^{[6] [7]}

The second ship, Stalwart, departed for Australia in May 2021 and arrived in late June.^{[8] [9]}

Operational history

HMAS Supply commissioned at Fleet Base East on 10 April 2021.^[10]

HMAS Stalwart commissioned at Fleet Base West on 13 November 2021.

Mechanical defects

In March 2023, a mechanical defect relating to the shaft alignment was found on HMAS Supply.^[11] The ship returned to Garden Island where it was to be repaired by Navantia under warranty.^[11]

In June 2024, it was reported that HMAS Supply could remain out of service for another year despite being sidelined for repairs over 14 months ago.^[12] In the same month, it was reported that HMAS Stalwart had being sidelined due to mechanical problems relating to its engine.^{[12] [13]} As a result, the Royal Australian Navy currently has no operational replenishment oilers as of 2024.^[13]

Ships

Name	Pennant number	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Status
	A195	Navantia, Ferrol	18 November 2017	24 November 2018	10 April 2021	Active
	A304		25 November 2018	30 August 2019	13 November 2021^[14]	Active

Further reading

• Navantia - Supply class AORs

External links

• Official RAN page for Supply-class AOR
• Launch of Nuship Supply
• Rear above view of launch of Nuship Supply

Notes and References

1. Web site: Dominguez . Gabriel . Australia names future replenishment vessels . IHS Jane's 360 . 17 November 2017 . 19 November 2017 . dead . 18 November 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171118210851/http://www.janes.com/article/75789/australia-names-future-replenishment-vessels .
2. Web site: Australia selects Navantia for new replenishment ship . IHS Jane's 360 . 14 March 2016 . dead . 13 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160313033353/https://www.janes.com/article/58705/australia-selects-navantia-for-new-replenishment-ship .
3. Web site: Minister for Defence – Transcript – Naval shipbuilding announcement, CEA Technologies, Canberra . 6 June 2014 . Transcript . Department of Defence Ministers . 1 January 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150222114231/http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2014/06/06/minister-for-defence-transcript-naval-shipbuilding-announcement/ . 22 February 2015.
4. News: Australian ships, Australian jobs . Hewett . Jennifer . 26 April 2015 . The Australian Financial Review . 4 May 2015 .
5. Web site: Australia selects Navantia for new replenishment ship . Grevatt . Jon . IHS Jane's 360 . 10 March 2016 . 15 March 2016 . dead . 13 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160313033353/https://www.janes.com/article/58705/australia-selects-navantia-for-new-replenishment-ship .
6. Web site: Navy welcomes first of next-generation fleet replenishment, support vessels . defenceconnect.com . Kuper . Stephen . 6 October 2020 . 2 May 2021 .
7. News: McLaughlin . Andrew . RAN's new AOR arrives in Australia . 14 October 2020 . ADBR . 6 October 2020 .
8. Web site: NUSHIP Stalwart departs from Spain to join Australia.
9. Web site: Supply-class NUSHIP Stalwart to join Royal Australian Navy.
10. Web site: HMAS Supply (II) . Royal Australian Navy . 2 May 2021 .
11. News: Andrew . Greene. Urgent repairs underway on one of Australia's newest ships after 'potential mechanical defects' discovered. ABC. 5 July 2024.
12. News: Andrew . Greene. Australia's newest warship HMAS Stalwart breaks down, undergoing emergency mechanical repairs. ABC. 5 July 2024.
13. News: Ben . Felton. HMAS Stalwart sidelined by engine defects. Australian Defence Magazine. 5 July 2024.
14. Web site: HMAS Stalwart Commissioning. YouTube.