Three Fair Maids All in a Row - Exercise Bersama Shield

27 May 2009

Why would three tankers from different nations come together in close proximity as though they were about to conduct a replenishment at sea (RAS)? The simple answer is, because they can.

On a mild morning in the South China Sea, the three tankers involved in Exercise BERSAMA SHIELD, HMAS Success (CMDR Simon Brown), HMNZS Endeavour and RFA Wave Ruler took the opportunity to test their ship handling skills and interoperability by conducting a CONSOL RAS (Dry Hook-up).

Much patience and nerve was required by the bridge teams to bring the three Commonwealth tankers in close quarters.

"Conducting Replenishment operations is pretty common for a Replenishment ship as you can imagine, however it does not occur frequently between tankers. Throwing three into the equation is an even rarer event," said Commanding Officer of Success, CMDR Simon Brown.

"This has been one of the highlights of my time in command of Success. The opportunity to conduct a RAS with another nation’s tanker is a highlight for any CO but this is something special, the memory will last a lifetime,” said CMDR Brown.

It was a proud day also for RFA Wave Ruler as the evolution marked the first occasion that she had been alongside another Commonwealth tanker, let alone two, and all this on her first trip east of the Suez Canal.

The opportunity to view three tankers conducting the RAS evolution was something even other units were interested in with HMS Ocean sending her Merlin aircraft to get some photographs.