The vessel took part in
Operation Telic during early 2003.
Fort Victoria was adopted by the
Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and has been affiliated with the borough for over ten years. A battle ensign was presented to the borough in 2003 following the vessel's participation in military operations in the
Persian Gulf. The ensign can be seen in the foyer of
Barnsley Town Hall. From November 2008 until May 2009 she underwent a refit on the
Mersey by
Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders, being towed up from the
Solent by tugs
Red Dolphin and
Englishman. She returned to operational status in November 2009, and was set to rejoin the RFA fleet by the early months of 2010. The ship has undergone another refit from March 2014 to December 2014. The refit included the main engines receiving an overhaul, other machinery, pumps and pipework, new fire-detecting and fire-fighting systems, six new main generators, living quarters refurbished, and weapons and sensors also completely overhauled. This £50 million refit will allow the ship to serve for at least another 15 years.
Indian Ocean deployments In September 2010,
Fort Victoria was posted to the
Indian Ocean as part of
Operation Ocean Shield, the
NATO mission to combat
piracy. She has subsequently been involved in several operations against pirates off the coast of Somalia. In June 2011
Fort Victoria was deployed off the coast of
Yemen with an embarked force of 80
Royal Marines to assist with the possible evacuation of British nationals from that country due to the recent political
unrest there. Britain's foreign secretary,
William Hague, had advised British nationals to leave the country immediately saying that it was "extremely unlikely" that the UK government would be able to stage an evacuation operation. On 11 October 2011
Fort Victoria, along with , was involved in the release of the Italian ship
Montecristo after it was hijacked by Somali pirates. The pirates surrendered without resistance.
Fort Victoria continued her deployment in the western Indian Ocean into early 2012. On 12 January she foiled an attempt by pirates to attack cargo ships in the Indian Ocean by forcing a previously hijacked tanker,
Liquid Velvet, now being used as a pirate
mothership, to return to Somalia. On 13 January 2012, Royal Marines operating from
Fort Victoria captured 13 Somali pirates in the Western Indian Ocean after they refused to stop despite warning shots fired from a Royal Navy helicopter. The commanding officer of
Fort Victoria, Captain Shaun Jones RFA, said: On 14 May 2012, during its 2012 deployment, U.S. helicopter squadron
HSM-77 Detachment Five completed its temporary operational rotation on board
Fort Victoria which was serving as the
flagship for
Combined Task Force 151. This was the first time that a
MH-60R helicopter had ever operated from a Royal Navy ship. The detachment's helicopters primarily concentrated on anti-piracy surveillance missions during this two-week period. For her four-month-long 2013 deployment,
Fort Victoria relieved and operated with
Task Force 53 in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. In September 2013 she took over as flagship of
Combined Task Force 151 tackling
piracy off Somalia. In mid-2013, she sailed with the COUGAR 13 task group.
Refit and carrier support In July 2017,
Fort Victoria returned to the UK following an extended 26-month deployment, much of which was spent
East of Suez in support of anti-piracy operations. This included three months in the
Aegean Sea in April 2016 on operation Bucktail monitoring activities of people traffickers in the Lesbos region, taking over from . Following her return, during 2017–2018, the ship underwent an extensive refit intended to allow her to support the s and meet current tanker anti-pollution hull requirements upon her re-entry into service.
Fort Victoria returned to service in November 2018. In October 2020, she joined a nine-ship
UK Carrier Strike Group and performed her first manoeuvres with HMS
Queen Elizabeth. On 11 May 2021
Fort Victoria suffered a small fire whilst alongside in Portland preparing for the Carrier Strike Group 2021 deployment, carrying munitions, fuel and other stores. Emergency services were called to the scene. However, the crew were able to successfully extinguish the small fire before their arrival. Four personnel were treated for smoke inhalation by ambulance crews and were taken to hospital but were not seriously injured. The ship was in refit in 2022 for an upgrade to her engines as well as other repairs. She was initially reported to have returned to active operations in December 2022. However, in May 2023 it was reported that the ship continued to suffer from significant problems that required rectification, and would likely maintain only a skeleton crew through 2023. Subsequently it was reported that the ship was "mechanically sound" and in an emergency could support an unplanned carrier group deployment, though this would then require taking sailors from other ships due to RFA personnel shortages. In early 2024, the ship was reported to be "in the care of the
Cammell Laird shipyard" and in "poor condition". She was expected to remain in refit through 2024. In late 2024, it was reported that she would be placed in "extended readiness" (uncrewed reserve) for at least a year.
Replacement The replacement of
Fort Victoria with the first of a new class of
Fleet Solid Support Ship had been envisaged in around 2028. In July 2022, Rear-Admiral Paul Marshall, the Senior Responsible Officer for the Fleet Solid Support ship project, told the House of Commons Select Defence Committee that the lead ship of this class was envisaged for service entry in 2028. However, subsequently the Ministry of Defence indicated that the first ship of the new class would in fact not be operational until 2031. The MoD also indicated that it was therefore planned to maintain
Fort Victoria in service for the required additional transitional period. == See also ==