Stephen Morgan, Member of Parliament for Portsmouth, attended the service of dedication for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Tidespring in HM Naval Base, Portsmouth today.
Tidespring was ordered as part of the Maritime Afloat, Reach and Sustainability programme to provide a refuel capability for the Queen Elizabeth class of aircraft carriers. She is the first of the class and will be followed by Tiderace, Tidesurge and Tideforce.
The service of dedication was attended by HRH The Earl of Wessex, Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
As part of the event Stephen received a tour from the ship’s crew.
Stephen said:
“It was a privilege to represent Portsmouth at the service of dedication with HRH The Earl of Wessex in HM Naval Base today.
RFA Tidespring is the first of a modern class of fleet replenishment tankers will help our new Royal Navy carriers with their global reach and is a fitting addition to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the men and women-military and civilian – who have contributed to this project and made today’s service of dedication possible”.
