Spanish oiler heads for second deployment with Royal Canadian Navy

The Spanish Navy auxiliary oiler and replenishment (AOR) ship ‘Patiño’ (A-14) set sail from Ferrol towards Halifax to cooperate with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in North-Western Atlantic waters.

This will be the second time Patiño is working with the RCN after the first one took place in February and March 2016.

This deployment is the Spanish Navy response to an RCN request given its present lack of replenishment at sea (RAS) capability.

The purpose of the deployment with the Canadian Navy is to train RCN personnel in RAS techniques and in the protection of valuable naval units.

In Halifax the Patiño will integrate into a US Navy and RCN Task Group to participate in the international manoeuvers Cutlass Fury, Frontier Sentenial and TGEX-616 in the east coast of North America.

The AOR was commissioned into active service in 1995. With a complement of 150 people the ship can supply 9,000 m3 of fuel and 2,000 tons of food, ammunition and spare parts to other naval units at sea.

The Patiño can also provide medical assistance thanks to her hospital facilities and logistic support capabilities in non-combatant scenarios like humanitarian aid and environmental defense operations.