RFA Green Rover (A268) was a small fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), built by Swan Hunter Shipbuilders on the River Tyne, UK and completed in 1969. After decommissioning in 1992 she was sold to the Indonesian Navy and renamed KRI Arun (903).
Design and construction
The were single-hulled tankers, designed to carry a mixture of fuel oil, aviation fuel, lubricating oil and fresh water supply for services around the globe; they could also carry limited dried stores of such as munitions and refrigerated goods. They were built with a flight deck large enough to accommodate two helicopters, although no hangar was fitted. Although not big enough to support a large task group, these ships were ideal for supporting individual warships or small groups on deployment.
The keel of Green Rover was laid at Swan Hunter Shipbuilders Ltd's Hebburn yard on the River Tyne, UK on 28 February 1968, she was launched on 19 December the same year, and completed on 15 August 1969.
Operational history
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
One of Green Rovers first duties was to attend Navy Days at Chatham, between 31 August and 1 September 1969, where she was open to the public and over 13,000 people visited the ship. In the September she towed the disabled from the North Atlantic to HMNB Devonport.
In November 1970 she departed for a deployment to the Far East, returning by September 1971 where she carried out deck landing trials with the new Harrier jump jet while moored at Greenwich Pier on the Thames.
In 1973 she deployed nine times over three months, between 20 June and 22 September, in support of Royal Navy units operating in support of fishing boats from Britain off Iceland during the Second Cod War.
Green Rover was again involved with the Cod Wars when, between 24 November 1975 and 1 June 1976, she provided support to Royal Navy units during the Third Cod War.).
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File:RFA Green Rover (11223534343).jpg|RFA Green Rover at Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth Navy Day, August 1977
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Indonesian Navy
In April 1992 the ship was purchased by her builders who then resold her to the Indonesian Navy for £6 million. She was towed from Portsmouth to the Tyne renamed C to be taken in hand for a four-month refurbishment before re-entering service for her new owners. Commissioned as KRI Arun (903), in addition to providing tanker duties, she also became the flagship of the Training Command in the Indonesian fleet. She is still in service as of 2018.
On 19 March 2018 Arun took on a severe list during a replenishment operation off Ujung, Surabaya. The exercise was cancelled and she was towed to naval facilities at Surabaya for technical examination.
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File:KRI Arun 903.jpg|Indonesian Navy oil tanker KRI Arun (903). Ex-RFA Green Rover (A268)
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See also
- List of replenishment ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary