{{short description|Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship (MROSS) of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary}} {{distinguish|HMS Proteus}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image | image = RFA Proteus in Cammell Laird.webp | image_caption = ''Proteus'' at Cammell Laird }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career | hide_header = | country = Marshall Islands | flag = {{shipboxflag|Marshall Islands|civil}} | name = ''Topaz Tangaroa'' | owner = P&O Maritime Logistics | operator = | registry = Majuro | route = | ordered = | builder = Vard Brattvaag, Norway and Tulcea shipyard in Romania. | original_cost = $62 million<ref name="TradewindsSale">{{cite web|url=https://www.tradewindsnews.com/offshore/p-o-maritime-takes-big-profit-by-selling-subsea-ship-to-uk-government/2-1-1391280|title=P&O Maritime takes big profit by selling subsea ship to UK government|date=20 January 2023|accessdate=2023-04-04|website=Tradewinds}}</ref> | yard_number = 841 | way_number = | laid_down = | launched = 18 March 2017<ref name=ProteusParticulars>{{cite web|url=https://vesselregister.dnv.com/vesselregister/details/35419|title=TOPAZ TANGAROA|accessdate=2023-04-04|website=DNV Vessel Register}}</ref> | completed = | christened = | acquired = | maiden_voyage = | in_service = | out_of_service = | identification = | fate = Sold to Ministry of Defence, 14 February 2023 | notes = }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/career | hide_header = title | country = United Kingdom | flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval-RFA}} | name = ''Proteus'' | namesake = Proteus, a sea-god in Greek mythology | acquired = 14 February 2023 | sponsor = Akshata Murty<ref name="RN surveillance ship">{{cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2023/october/10/20231010-uk-protection-enhanced-as-underwater-surveillance-ship-enters-service |title=UK protection enhanced as underwater surveillance ship enters service|date=10 October 2023|access-date=10 November 2023|website=Royal Navy}}</ref> | commissioned = | decommissioned = | in_service = 10 October 2023 | out_of_service = | struck = | reinstated = | honours = | fate = | homeport = Falmouth | identification = *Pennant number : K60<ref name="navylookoutfirstimages">{{cite web|url=https://www.navylookout.com/first-images-of-new-multi-role-ocean-support-ship-mros-renamed-rfa-proteus/|title=First images of new Multi Role Ocean Support ship (MROS) renamed RFA Proteus|date=4 April 2023|accessdate=2023-04-04|website=Navy Lookout}}</ref> *{{IMO Number|9792539}}<ref name=ProteusParticulars /> *{{MMSI Number|538008267}} | status = In active service | notes = | badge = 100px }}
|section4={{Infobox ship/characteristics | hide_header = | header_caption = | class = VARD 3 08<ref name="VardSpec">{{cite web|url=https://www.vard.com/shipbuilding/references/topaz-tangaroa|title=Topaz Tangaroa|accessdate=2023-04-05|website=Vard Group AS}}</ref> | type = Multi-role ocean surveillance ship | displacement = {{cvt|6000|t|LT|lk=on}}<ref name="navylookoutfirstimages" /> | tonnage = *{{GT|6,133}}<ref name="Scheepvaartwest">{{cite web|url=https://www.scheepvaartwest.be/CMS/index.php/tugs/9497-topaz-tangaroa-imo-9792539|title=Topaz Tangaroa – IMO 9792539|date=24 November 2019|accessdate=2023-04-06|website=Scheepvaartwest}}</ref> *{{NetT|1,840}} *{{DWT|3,277}} | length = {{convert|98.1|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name=ProteusParticulars /> | beam = {{convert|20.048|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name=ProteusParticulars /> | height = | draught = {{convert|6.0|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name=ProteusParticulars /> | propulsion = *2 × Caterpillar 3516C diesel engines (2 × {{cvt|2250|kW|disp=comma}}) *1 × Caterpillar 3512C diesel engine (1 × {{cvt|1700|kW|disp=comma}}) *2 × Caterpillar C32 diesel engines (2 × {{cvt|1820|kW|disp=comma}}) *2 × Kongsberg azimuth thrusters (2 × 1,650kW) *1 × bow thruster (1 × {{cvt|1500|kW|disp=comma}})<ref name=ProteusParticulars /> | speed = *Max {{convert|14|kn|lk=in}}<ref name="Scheepvaartwest" /> | range = | endurance = | complement = 82 as civil supply vessel;<ref name="Scheepvaartwest" /> 24 RFA and 60 RN personnel in RFA service<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2023/may/02/20230502-rfa-looks-to-greek-god-proteus-to-protect-uks-underwater-assets|title=RFA looks to Greek god Proteus to protect UK's underwater assets|date=2 May 2023|access-date=3 May 2023|website=Royal Navy}}</ref> | EW = | aircraft = | aircraft_facilities = Helipad }} }}
'''RFA ''Proteus''''' is a ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary within His Majesty's Naval Service of the United Kingdom. Its role is surveillance, acting as a platform for Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicles (ROUVs)<ref name="rfa-proteus">{{cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/organisation/units-and-squadrons/support-ships/rfa-proteus |title=Organisation, Units & Squadrons RFA Proteus (K60) |website=royalnavy.mod.uk |accessdate=22 November 2023 }}</ref> and as a testbed for new specialist capabilities, required for monitoring waters important to UK interests.<ref name="RN surveillance ship"/> Acquired in 2023, the ship entered drydock at Cammell Laird for modification into a Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship (MROSS). She formally entered service in October 2023.<ref name="Navy Lookout Proteus Guide">{{cite web |title=A guide to RFA Proteus – the UK's new seabed warfare vessel |url=https://www.navylookout.com/a-guide-to-rfa-proteus-the-uks-new-seabed-warfare-vessel/ |access-date=11 October 2023 |work=Navy Lookout |date=10 October 2023}}</ref>
The ship was formerly named '''MV ''Topaz Tangaroa''''' in 2017–2022, and was used as a platform supply vessel operated by P&O Maritime Logistics.<ref name="navylookoutfirstimages" /> The vessel was refitted after being sold to the U.K. Ministry of Defence in January 2023.
''Proteus'' is one of two new commercial vessels acquired for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 2023, the other being {{ship|HMS|Stirling Castle|M01}}; a mine hunting support ship to act as a mothership for autonomous minehunters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2023/march/31/230330-new-ship-named-stirling-castle |title=New mine-hunting support ship named |date=31 March 2023 |accessdate=2023-08-06 |website=Royal Navy}}</ref>
==History==
===MV ''Topaz Tangaroa''===
The ship operated as the offshore support vessel MV ''Topaz Tangaroa'' for Topaz Marine (later, P&O Maritime Logistics) from December 2019 until January 2023. Designed and built by Vard Brattvaag, Norway and with the hull construction completed in Tulcea shipyard, Romania<ref name="VardSpec" /> the primary capabilities of ''Topaz Tangaroa'' were to support subsea construction and installation projects, subsea inspection and survey, and as a mother ship to support remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations. The ship was flagged in the Marshall Islands with its home port as Majuro.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}
Projects for which ''Topaz Tangaroa'' was deployed includes supporting the construction of the Greater Changhua offshore wind farm near Taiwan.<ref name="Changhua">{{cite web|url=https://www.offshorewind.biz/2021/03/12/van-oord-sends-cable-installation-fleet-to-taiwan/|title=Van Oord Sends Cable Installation Fleet to Taiwan|date=1 March 2021|accessdate=2023-04-05|website=offshoreWIND.biz}}</ref> <gallery class="center" heights="150px" widths="200px"> File:FRPUN-20230119-XX0014-080.jpg|''Proteus'' in dry-dock at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead in 2023, with its previous name ''Topaz Tangaroa'' </gallery>
===RFA ''Proteus''===
Owing to the UK's government's growing concern about protecting subsea infrastructure, and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, ''Topaz Tangaroa'' was purchased by the UK's Ministry of Defence in February 2023 for £70 million to be converted into a Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship (MROSS) and operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.navylookout.com/first-images-of-new-multi-role-ocean-support-ship-mros-renamed-rfa-proteus/|title=First images of new Multi Role Ocean Support ship (MROS) renamed RFA Proteus |date=4 April 2023 |accessdate=2023-08-06 |website=Navy Lookout}}</ref> The ship was assigned the pennant number K60. Initial conversion for naval service is being conducted at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, UK.
The MROSS was initially announced by the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace during the 2022 Conservative Party conference. Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson had first discussed the possibility of such a vessel in November 2020.<ref name="navylookoutMROS">{{cite web|url=https://www.navylookout.com/protecting-seabed-infrastructure-uk-multi-role-ocean-surveillance-ship-to-be-in-service-by-2023/|title=Protecting seabed infrastructure – UK Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship to be in service by 2023|date=23 October 2022|access-date=2023-04-05|website=Navy Lookout}}</ref>
She is equipped with a {{convert|120|tonne}} crane as well as a hangar and workshops capable of accommodating remotely operated and other unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). The Ministry of Defence reportedly acquired three Kongsberg HUGIN Large UUVs which reportedly can conduct surveillance and surveys down to depths of {{convert|6000|m}}.<ref name="Navy Lookout Proteus Guide"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Marine Robots |url=https://www.kongsberg.com/discovery/products/marine-robots/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw7JOpBhCfARIsAL3bobcDLCuOZBcH2dyCrxXJ0ay7ReM1ZTVzWtxDnnbu1YVnAzZjHxE7knEaAgE2EALw_wcB |access-date=11 October 2023 |work=Kongsberg}}</ref>
Conversion of ''Proteus'' was completed in September 2023 and the ship began post-conversion sea trials.<ref>{{cite tweet |url=https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/1702944573838840061?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet |title=@NavyLookout Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) @RFAProteus is finally due to leave @CammellLaird shipyard today following conversion work. |number=1702944573838840061 |user=NavyLookout |date=16 September 2023 |access-date=16 September 2023}}</ref> She formally entered service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in October 2023.<ref name=navalnews20230531>[https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/cne-2023/2023/05/uk-details-delivery-timeframes-and-capabilities-for-mross-ships/ UK Details Delivery Timeframes And Capabilities For MROSS Ships], Lee Willet, Naval News, 31 May 2023.</ref><ref name="Navy Lookout Proteus Guide"/> A formal dedication ceremony took place in London on the River Thames, in the presence of the RFA Commodore-in-Chief, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and Akshata Murty, wife of the incumbent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who will be the ship's sponsor throughout its active life, with ''Proteus'' berthed alongside the Imperial War Museum's preserved {{sclass2|Town|cruiser (1936)|0}} light cruiser, {{HMS|Belfast|C35|6}}.<ref>{{Cite web|date=10 October 2023 |title=DE&S team proud to attend ceremony for RFA Proteus |url=https://des.mod.uk/des-team-proud-to-attend-ceremony-for-rfa-proteus/ |website=des.mod.uk |publisher=Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) |access-date=13 June 2024}}</ref> <gallery class="center" heights="150px" widths="200px"> File:RFA Proteus and HMS Belfast from Horizon 22.jpg|RFA ''Proteus'' and HMS ''Belfast'' from the Horizon 22 viewing gallery, 22 Bishopsgate, City of London, the day before the formal dedication ceremony. </gallery>
== Design and facilities ==
RFA ''Proteus'' is a former offshore support vessel. Designed by Vard, the hull was constructed at their Tulcea shipyard in Romania and then fitted out at their Brattvåg facility in Norway, completed in 2019. Intended for work in the offshore oil industry its role was supporting relative construction, maintenance and inspection work and was already equipped to operate Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).<ref name="navylookoutprotreuspurchase">{{cite web|url=https://www.navylookout.com/uk-purchases-commercial-vessel-for-conversion-to-ocean-surveillance-ship/ |title=UK purchases commercial vessel for conversion to ocean surveillance ship |website=navylookout.com |date=17 January 2023 |accessdate=22 November 2023}}</ref>
The ship is capable of a top speed of 14 knots, but it has a typical cruising speed of 11 knots. It is equipped with 5 x Caterpillar diesel engines, these required to supply power for the ship, along with the stern azimuth thrusters, the twin bow tunnel thrusters and a drop-down azimuth bow thruster. It also has a Rolls-Royce Icon Dynamic Positioning system Class II, which enables the ship to remain stationary and includes an assigned operating control which overlooks the rear working deck. ''Proteus'' is designed with Antiroll tanks, including pumps capable of moving ballast water between them, which counters any horizontal motion.<ref name="Navy Lookout Proteus Guide"/>
The ship's accommodation comprises fifty-three cabins with eighty-two bunks, these are split across twenty-four single cabins and twenty-nine double cabins.<ref name="Navy Lookout Proteus Guide"/> A Royal Fleet Auxiliary crew of twenty-six will operate ''Proteus''. This will be supplemented with approximately sixty Royal Navy specialists, who will be responsible for the undersea surveillance, survey and warfare systems operations.<ref name="RN surveillance ship"/> The ship is equipped with a single cafeteria but there are several mess and lounge spaces for crew relaxation.<ref name="Navy Lookout Proteus Guide"/>
The ship has a 7.2m<sup>2</sup> opening moon pool enabling underwater vehicles to enter into or leave the water easily within a protected environment. This facility is located at the forward end of the working deck and the hatch cover is removed by crane. The AHC crane has a {{convert|3,000|m}} long wire which enables objects to be directly lowered to the seabed. It has a safe working load of up to {{convert|120|tonnes}} and the working / cargo deck can carry loads totalling up to {{convert|1,400|tonnes}}.<ref name="Navy Lookout Proteus Guide"/> The size of the working / cargo deck is 1,000m<sup>2</sup> and ''Proteus'' is also equipped with a flight deck.<ref name="RN surveillance ship"/>
There is hangar space for Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV)s, which runs across the ship for easy access between the port and starboard systems and the Launch and recovery system (LARS) can lower the underwater vehicles over either side. ''Proteus'' has an umbilical tether winch system, which carries the control, power and communications cables for equipment lowered, this comes from drums below decks and then up to the hangar, before connecting to the ROV through the LARS. Adjacent to the hangar are ROV workshops.<ref name="Navy Lookout Proteus Guide"/>
''Proteus'' is fitted with a multibeam echosounder (MBES) giving the ship a hydrographic capability and it has a number of work spaces available which could be used for operations rooms.<ref name="Navy Lookout Proteus Guide"/>
== Career and Operations ==
As of December 2023, it was reported that ''Proteus'' was not yet available for operations having yet to complete Operational Sea Training and being still required to return to Cammell Laird shipyard in the new year for dry docking and inspections.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.navylookout.com/analysis-royal-navy-deploys-seven-ships-on-underwater-infrastructure-patrols/ |title=Analysis: Royal Navy deploys seven ships on underwater infrastructure patrols |website=navylookout.com |date=3 December 2023 |accessdate=3 December 2023}}</ref> Pursuant to the completion of work, ''Proteus'' reportedly sailed from Cammell Laird in March 2024 to resume her work-up.<ref>{{cite tweet |url=https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/1767555315766022555 |title=@NavyLookout .@RFAProteus sailed from @CammellLaird shipyard in Birkenhead today on completion of certification period. |number=1767555315766022555 |user=NavyLookout |date=12 March 2024 |access-date=13 March 2024}}</ref> The ship visited London during the second weekend of May 2024. She was in Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth as of June 2024, and, as of October 2024, had been transferred to the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead.<ref>{{cite tweet |url=https://x.com/NavyLookout/status/1841079598353637489?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet |title=@NavyLookout. @RFAProteus moved from the wet basin @CammellLaird into Alfred Dock, Birkenhead today. (CL need to repair the lock gate). |number=1841079598353637489 |user=NavyLookout |date=1 October 2024 |access-date=1 October 2024}}</ref> She departed Birkenhead in late October.<ref>{{cite tweet |url=https://x.com/NavyLookout/status/1851668754033222092?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet |title=@NavyLookout.@RFAProteus sailed from Birkenhead on Saturday and is currently in the Irish Sea |number=1851668754033222092 |user=NavyLookout |date=30 October 2024 |access-date=30 October 2024}}</ref>
In November 2024 Britain's Ministry of Defence released a photograph of ''Proteus'' shadowing the Russian spy ship ''Yantar''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Castle |first=Stephen |date=22 January 2025 |title=Britain Says Russian Spy Ship Returned to U.K. Waters in Sign of Kremlin Threat |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/world/europe/britain-russia-spy-ship.html |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>
== See also == * List of miscellaneous ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary * Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship
==References== {{Commons cat|RFA Proteus (K60)}} {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/organisation/units-and-squadrons/support-ships/rfa-proteus RFA Proteus - Royal Navy ]
{{Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proteus (K60)}} Category:2017 ships Category:Ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary