NRP Bérrio
 NRP Bérrio, 2007.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Blue Rover |
| Ordered | January 1968 |
| Builder | Swan Hunter |
| Yard number | 8 |
| Laid down | 30 December 1968 |
| Launched | 11 November 1969 |
| Commissioned | 15 July 1970 |
| Decommissioned | 23 February 1993 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Purchased by the Portuguese Navy and renamed NRP Bérrio on 31 March 1993 |
| Badge |  |
 Portugal | |
| Name | NRP Bérrio |
| Namesake | Caravel Bérrio |
| Acquired | 31 March 1993 |
| Homeport | Lisbon Naval Base |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Decommissioned |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Rover-class tanker |
| Tonnage | 7,060 DWT |
| Displacement | 11,522 tons full load |
| Length | 461 ft 04 in (140.61 m) |
| Beam | 63 ft 02 in (19.25 m) |
| Draught | 24 ft 00 in (7.32 m) |
| Depth | 33 ft 06 in (10.21 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Range | 15,000 miles (24,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Capacity |
|
| Complement |
|
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | one flight spot for a Super Lynx Mk.95 in Portuguese service and Westland Sea King in RFA service |
| Aviation facilities | Helicopter deck (no hangar) |
NRP Bérrio (A5210) was a fleet support tanker of the Portuguese Navy. She was built by Swan Hunter in 1969 at Hebburn, England as RFA Blue Rover (A270) of the Rover-class and from 1970 to 1993 was part of the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary. In 1982 during her British service she participated in the Falklands War.[1]
In 1993, she was sold to the Portuguese Navy who renamed her Bérrio. She participated in Operation Crocodile (Operação Crocodilo) in 1998, as part of the Portuguese naval task force that rescued foreign nationals caught up in the civil conflicts in Guinea-Bissau and then supported the mediators of the CPLP in the peace talks between the parties in the conflict.[1]
The vessel was decommissioned on 1 June 2020.[2]
Design and construction[edit]
RFA Blue Rover, later NRP Bérrio, was a single-hulled tanker of the Rover-class, although not big enough to support a large task group, she was ideal for supporting individual warships or small groups on deployment.[3]
She was designed to carry a mixture of fuel oil, aviation fuel, lubricating oil and a fresh water supply; she could also carry 340 tonnes (330 long tons; 370 short tons) of limited dried stores, such as munitions and refrigerated goods.[3]
She was fitted with a flight deck large enough to accommodate two helicopters, although she had no hangar.[3]
The keel of Blue Rover was laid at Swan Hunter's Hebburn yard on the River Tyne, England, on 30 December 1968, she was launched on 11 November 1969.[4] A fire in a fuel tank which was under construction was the cause of death of two plumbers, Lawrence Burdis (aged 24) and John Kinkaid (aged 21), on 9 March 1970. It took thirty firefighters two hours to extinguish it.[5] She commissioned on 15 July 1970. She was in service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary from 1970 until 1993.[4]
Royal Fleet Auxiliary service[edit]
One of Blue Rover's early major deployments came in February 1971 when she supported the Royal Yacht, HMY Britannia in the Pacific Ocean. On 23 February she visited the Pitcairn Islands in support of the visit of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to the island.[5]
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^ a b "RFA Blue Rover". Historical RFA. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- ^ Alexandre Galante (2 June 2020). "Marinha Portuguesa desativa o navio de reabastecimento NRP Bérrio". Poder Naval - A informação naval comentada e discutida (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ a b c Puddefoot 2009, p. 196.
- ^ a b "RFA Blue Rover A270". helis.com. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ a b "RFA Blue Rover -Historical RFA". historicalrfa.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
Bibliography[edit]
- Puddefoot, Geoff (2009). The Fourth Force The Untold Story of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary since 1945. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-046-8.
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