FORT VICTORIA In The Thick Of It – The Fleet Supply Ship. The RFA FORT VICTORIA serving as for the next three months as the headquarters for an 12 ship international task force keeping the sea lanes between the Middle East and Mediterranean open.    The RFA FORT VICTORIA will take the fight to Indian Ocean pirates for the third time in three years as a “pirate buster”, working from Bahrain with the seven nation, Singapore led command battle staff of Combined Task Force 151 embarked.   Part of Combined Task Force 151 is the Type 23 Frigate NORTHUMBERLAND, and the area of operation encompasses the Red Sea to the Strait of Hormuz, including the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin – the latter is known colloquially as ‘pirate alley’.    Over the winters of 2010-11 and 2011-12 the RFA FORT VICTORIA with a party of Royal Marines embarked as Operation Capri.

Whilst the RFA FORT VICTORIA will serve as Headquarters Ship the vessel will also maintain the traditional one stop support ship role providing supplies to sustain the mission of the rest of the task force.   The Combined Task Force 151 shifted seamlessly shifted the command staff from their shore facility in Bahrain.   Until assuming the current role, the RFA FORT VICTORIA – the largest ship in the Naval Service has spent the past three months providing logistics support to British and international security forces in the Gulf region.