RFA Wave Knight host UKHO personnel

One of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s fast fleet tankers hosted four members of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) for five days during January.

RFA Wave Knight showed off her capabilities during FOST duties in the South Coast Exercise Areas with the aim of showing their guests how the products they make are used in a real life situation.

Sam Winchester, Adam Henderson, Carol Sweeting and Mark Cornish were welcomed on board and after a comprehensive health and safety induction, were treated to a tour of the ship and the opportunity to view all of the weeks’ training serials from prime positions on the bridge.

They also spent a morning in the galley, helping to prepare the meals for the 86 crewmembers on board, and time in the engine room to gain a full understanding of the team work that goes into keeping an RFA ship operational. 

Additionally, the ship’s officers were able to speak directly to the people behind the weekly emails and gain a deeper understanding of items such as the Additional Military Layers on the WECDIS (navigational equipment) and e-navigator.

Some of the highlights for the UKHO quests included learning how to steer the ship, observing close quarter manoeuvres during a Thursday war and watching flying serials from the hangar.

Sam Winchester said "The experience was fun and extremely valuable; it’s been really beneficial to see exactly how the RFA utilises the updates and services that I help to produce."

The Commanding Officer of RFA Wave Knight, Captain Karl Woodfield, said that the opportunity to foster greater links  with the UKHO and to exchange ideas on future UKHO products could only be of benefit to us as customers at sea  in the future.

The week ended with an exchange of gifts and a formal debrief of the week’s events.

It is envisaged that officers from RFA Wave Knight will undertake a reciprocal visit the UKHO offices in Taunton in the near future.