Royal Fleet Auxilliary - Ship movements.

[wildcat45]

Hi, just been spending ages on AIS looking at ship movements - I live by the sea.

I noticed an RFA stores ship For Rosalie sailed from I guess somewhere liek Glenmallon, round the top to anchor for several days off Bridlington.

Why would she do this?

I understand why she will have been to Glenmallon - either loading or unloading the sort of stuff that you take to Glenmallon.

But why lay up for several days in an anchorage on the other side of the country afterwards?

Dan

[XJSJohn]

waiting for an exercise to start that she is taking part in?

[Taffer]

As said, probably waiting to take part in an exercise. The 'men in black' conduct occasional counter-terrorism exercises on North Sea rigs (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more), so Fort Rosalie could be used as a staging post or as a 'target ship'.

[wildcat45]

Cheers guys.

[phumy]

Compass swinging after a refit?

[JuniorD]

Might they have left UK territory for a bit so that crew can get out of country tax benefits?

[Taffer]

Don't think so - IIRC the RFA operates the same way as the RN, i.e. the ship is sovereign territory, so even if you go on a nine month deployment, it's fully taxed. I stand to be corrected though - even if it was tax-free, RFA pay is less for equivalent qualifications than most merchant navy jobs out there, and the days of touring the colonies being a floating bar are long gone.

EDIT: Apparently the RFA are eligible for tax-free pay. Hmm....still think I'll try and stay in the oil industry once I'm qualified. Not in a hurry to do the AIB and go to Dartmouth again (even if it is only 7 weeks for RFA)!

Edited by Taffer on Friday 18th September 21:27

[wildcat45]

Well according to AIS she's gone back north now....round the top and back to the Clyde.

RFA's don't baseport like warships do they?

[scotty_d]

Taffer said:

Don't think so - IIRC the RFA operates the same way as the RN, i.e. the ship is sovereign territory, so even if you go on a nine month deployment, it's fully taxed. I stand to be corrected though - even if it was tax-free, RFA pay is less for equivalent qualifications than most merchant navy jobs out there, and the days of touring the colonies being a floating bar are long gone.

EDIT: Apparently the RFA are eligible for tax-free pay. Hmm....still think I'll try and stay in the oil industry once I'm qualified. Not in a hurry to do the AIB and go to Dartmouth again (even if it is only 7 weeks for RFA)!

Edited by Taffer on Friday 18th September 21:27

Yeah stick with oil and gas much better paid i did the AIB for the RFA 2 months after leaving the RN And i am of to Barbados on Thursday best thing i ever did. They can do up to 4 months stints away, max i do is about 4 weeks (yet to do one that long yet) And they can get there tax back if they do the days ect ect. The AIB was not to bad but i did not get in due to the lack of my grammar skills in my essay and my overall crap english skills there loss i wanted to be a Engineer so i did it my way and its paying off now.

[Taffer]

scotty_d said:

Yeah stick with oil and gas much better paid i did the AIB for the RFA 2 months after leaving the RN And i am of to Barbados on Thursday best thing i ever did. They can do up to 4 months stints away, max i do is about 4 weeks (yet to do one that long yet) And they can get there tax back if they do the days ect ect. The AIB was not to bad but i did not get in due to the lack of my grammar skills in my essay and my overall crap english skills there loss i wanted to be a Engineer so i did it my way and its paying off now.

I've done 35 weeks at Dartmouth (went through as aircrew but got chopped after Elementary Flying Training), so I don't know if I'd get some sort of exemption if I went RFA. Currently doing the graduate route to getting a marine engineering ticket - 2 months sea time done, 4 to go! I still want to get back in the skies though - it'll be a good way to spend any tax rebates I get!