RFA Sea Centurion (A98)

History
RFA EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameRFA Sea Centurion
BuilderSocietà Esercizio Cantieri, Italy
LaunchedJuly 1997 as Stena Ausonia, later renamed Und Ege
Commissioned18 October 1998 and renamed Sea Centurion
Decommissioned25 July 2002
IdentificationIMO number: 9138783
FateReturned to owners in 2002. Renamed Mont Ventoux in 2002, Stena Forwarder in 2005, Ark Forwarder in 2007
General characteristics
TypeSealift
Tonnage21,104 gross tons
Length185.4 m (608 ft 3 in)
Beam22.5 m (73 ft 10 in)
Draught8.3 m (27 ft 3 in)
Propulsion4 × 8-cylinder Sulzer diesels
Speed22 knots (41 km/h)
Capacity2700 lane metres
Complement17

RFA Sea Centurion was a fast sealift ship chartered to Britain's Royal Fleet Auxiliary between 1998 and 2002 and subsequently in commercial service with Stena on Mediterranean routes as M/S Ark Forwarder.

Background

In the mid-1990s the British Ministry of Defence identified a need for sealift ships to support the new Joint Rapid Deployment Force (JRDF, subsequently the Joint Rapid Reaction Force). This requirement would ultimately be met by the construction of six Point-class sealift ships in 2002-3, but the charter of two commercial ships was approved as an interim measure.[1]

Description

Sea Centurion/Ark Forwarder is the lead ship of what was planned as a class of five vehicle carriers of 21,104 gross tons, although only three were built due to financial problems at the shipyard. She is 185.4 metres (608 ft) long and powered by four 8-cylinder Sulzer diesels. She has 2700 lane metres of roll-on/roll-off capacity.

History

Stena Ro-Ro ordered five ships from Società Esercizio Cantieri (SEC) at Viareggio in Tuscany, with ships 2 and 3 earmarked for charter to the British Ministry of Defence.[2] Problems soon arose as the shipyard was too small and had to build the ships in three sections in different locations.[2] Prolonged delays led to the Turkish operator UND walking away from the first ship,[2] the Stena Ausonia, which was delivered to the British in October 1998[1] as the Sea Centurion. Then SEC entered bankruptcy with the second ship, Sea Chieftain, 50% complete and the third, Transmed's Aronte had been launched.[2] The British walked away from the Sea Chieftain and extended an existing charter on RFA Sea Crusader instead. Ships 2 and 3 were eventually completed after going through several shipyards and are now serving Stena as Stena Freighter and Stena Carrier on the Sweden-Germany route.[2] Ships 4 and 5 were started but never completed.[2]

After leaving RFA service the Sea Centurion became the Mont Ventoux in December 2002, the Stena Forwarder in August 2005 and the Ark Forwarder in February 2007. As of 2014 she is serving the Genoa-Palermo route for Stena under a Cypriot flag, homeported in Limassol.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Memorandum submitted by the Ministry of Defence on the Major Procurement Projects Survey - Sea Lift Assets: Roll-on Roll-off Ships". UK Parliament. 10 May 1999. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Nilsson, Rolf P. (August 2004). "A new ship with a long history". Scandinavian Shipping Gazette. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007.