RFA ''Sea Centurion'' was a fast
sealift
Sealift is a term used predominantly in military logistics and refers to the use of cargo ships for the deployment of military assets, such as weaponry, vehicles, military personnel, and supplies. It complements other means of transport, such as ...
ship chartered to Britain's
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
The RF ...
between 1998 and 2002 and subsequently in commercial service with Stena on Mediterranean routes as MS ''Ark Forwarder''.
Background
In the mid-1990s the British Ministry of Defence identified a need for sealift ships to support the new Joint Rapid Deployment Force (JRDF, subsequently the
Joint Rapid Reaction Force
The Joint Rapid Reaction Force (JRRF) was a capability concept of the British Armed Forces from 1999 to 2010. It was a pool of specialised units from all three armed services tasked with Rapid deployment force, rapid deployment worldwide at short ...
). This requirement would ultimately be met by the construction of six
Point-class sealift ship
The Point class is a ship class, class of six roll-on/roll-off sealift ships originally procured under a Private Finance Initiative to be available for use as Auxiliary ship, naval auxiliaries to the United Kingdom, British British Armed Forces, ...
s in 2002-3, but the charter of two commercial ships was approved as an interim measure.
Description
''Sea Centurion''/''Ark Forwarder'' is the lead ship of what was planned as a class of five vehicle carriers of 21,104 gross tons, although only three were built due to financial problems at the shipyard. She is long and powered by four 8-cylinder
Sulzer diesels. She has 2700 lane metres of
roll-on/roll-off
Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...
capacity.
History
Stena Ro-Ro ordered five ships from Società Esercizio Cantieri (SEC) at
Viareggio
Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city in the province of Lucca, after Lucca.
It is known as a seaside resort as well a ...
in Tuscany, with ships 2 and 3 earmarked for charter to the British Ministry of Defence.
Problems soon arose as the shipyard was too small and had to build the ships in three sections in different locations.
Prolonged delays led to the Turkish operator UND walking away from the first ship,
the ''Stena Ausonia'', which was delivered to the British in October 1998
as the ''Sea Centurion''. Then SEC entered bankruptcy with the second ship, ''
Sea Chieftain'', 50% complete and the third, Transmed's ''Aronte'' had been launched.
The British walked away from the ''Sea Chieftain'' and extended an existing charter on
RFA ''Sea Crusader'' instead. Ships 2 and 3 were eventually completed after going through several shipyards and are now serving Stena as ''Stena Freighter'' and ''Stena Carrier'' on the Sweden-Germany route.
Ships 4 and 5 were started but never completed.
After leaving RFA service the ''Sea Centurion'' became the ''Mont Ventoux'' in December 2002, the ''Stena Forwarder'' in August 2005 and the ''Ark Forwarder'' in February 2007. she is serving the
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
-
Palermo
Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
route for Stena under a Cypriot flag, homeported in Limassol.
See also
*
RFA Sea Crusader (A96)
*
Point-class sealift ship
The Point class is a ship class, class of six roll-on/roll-off sealift ships originally procured under a Private Finance Initiative to be available for use as Auxiliary ship, naval auxiliaries to the United Kingdom, British British Armed Forces, ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sea Centurion (A98)
Ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
1997 ships