TENMAT RAILKO would like to wish HMS Ocean and HMS Severn a farewell and thank you for 20 and 14 years (respectively) of service in the Royal Navy. HMS Ocean, after her recent refurbishment, has been confirmed to be sold to Brazil. Whilst the faith of HMS Severn (the first of the River-Class OPVs) is yet to be confirmed by the Ministry of Defense.
HMS Ocean
‘Britain’s biggest warship’, the helicopter carrier and assault ship HMS Ocean (L12) is the biggest Flagship of the Royal Navy – the vessel is 667ft-long at a staggering weight of 21,500 tones. With a top speed of 18 knots (around 21 mph) the ship can accommodate almost 1,300 people and 40 vehicles with enough space for additional 18 helicopters.
Commissioned in September 1998 in Devonport, HMS Ocean is at the heart of the Navy’s amphibious fleet. Until the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth class carriers, HMS Ocean remains the largest warship in the Navy’s surface fleet. Since commissioning into Royal Navy service in 1998 she has been involved in operations off Sierra Leone (2000), Operation Telic off Iraq (2003), operations off Libya (2011) and most recently, humanitarian operations in the Caribbean.
The vessel was sold in 2018 to the Brazilian Navy for £84 million.
HMS Severn
The vessel was built in Southampton and commissioned in October 2003 to serve as fishery protection units within the United Kingdom’s waters along with her two sister ships Mersey and Tyne. Severn was the first of the Royal Navy’s offshore patrol vessels ever to undertake North Atlantic patrol duties in the Caribbean, a task usually undertaken by a destroyer or RFA vessel, taking her away from her usual work as part of the Fishery Protection Squadron.
In October 2014 it was announced that Severn will deploy overseas to take up the Atlantic Patrol Tasking (North). The ship returned to Portsmouth on 16 July 2015, having visited “all of the British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean – Turks and Caicos, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Anguilla and Grand Cayman.”
Amongst her final duties was a visit to Newport – the city to which HMS Severn was affiliated. HMS Severn was awarded the freedom of the city in 2006, and her company marched through Newport one last time as well as welcoming friends, families and guests from her affiliates on board.
The vessel was officially decommissioned on the 27th of October 2017.
TENMAT RAILKO NF and the Royal Navy
As with the majority of the MoD vessels, RAILKO NF was the specified material used in the propeller shaft bearings for both ships. RAILKO NF offers advantages such as reduced stick slip, improved lower vibration and market leading wear performance, all features recognized by the Ministry of Defense for a material key to the propulsion system.
For more information on TENMAT RAILKO NF as a bearing material for stern tube and rudder bearings please visit: www.tenmat-marine.com
or contact us directly on:
+44 (0) 161-9552-415
marine@tenmatwear.com
Resources:
royalnavy.mod.uk
plymouthherald.co.uk
wikipedia.org
