Why huge naval ship has been spotted on the River Mersey
A huge naval ship is berthed in Liverpool as it undergoes a period of maintenance. The 200-metre long and 37,000 tonne replenishment tanker RFA Tidespring was spotted on the River Mersey on Tuesday (January 14) and Wednesday (January 15) as its scheduled maintenance continues at Birkenhead's Cammell Laird shipyard.
RFA Tidespring was built in 2016 and entered service in 2017. About it, the Royal Navy website says: "Commanded by Captain Richard Davies, RFA Tidespring is predominantly deployed on replenishment at sea operations.
"These involve refuelling Royal Navy ships while they are on operations, delivering vital supplies, and transporting specialist personnel, including Royal Marines Commandos.
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"RFA Tidespring also undertakes a range of other maritime operations, including policing shipping lanes and providing humanitarian aid. It has the capacity for a large Chinook helicopter on the flight deck, making it more versatile than previous tankers."
On December 18, the ship's X (formerly Twitter) account posted a picture of the Liverpool waterfront, saying: "And with that the 2024 season is over. Time for some maintenance & upgrades so 2025 will be even better."
Today, a Royal Navy spokesperson told the ECHO: "RFA Tidespring is in the midst of a scheduled maintenance period which has included a need to berth in Liverpool for a period. The ship is effectively under the control of the maintenance team during this period.
"The Royal Navy and RFA occasionally use LCT (Liverpool Cruise Terminal) as a stop over during these periods as they conduct trials and transit in and out of Cammell Lairds."