Navy News
Direct from the front-line, the official newspaper of the Royal Navy, Navy News, brings you the latest news, features and award winning photos every month.
24 hours in St Helena: Tanker Tidespring’s rare visit to South Atlantic island
28 November 2025
Sailors made the most of a 24-hour visit to one of the world’s most remote islands when naval tanker RFA Tidespring visited St Helena.
Tidespring – second only in size to the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class carriers in the UK’s Fleet – making her way home to the UK having spent the bulk of the year supporting the Carrier Strike Group.
The carrier force returns home this weekend, but Tidespring broke away in the Indian Ocean, since when she has continued her deployment, visiting Cape Town in South Africa before making her way up the continent’s western seaboard.
About the size of Swindon but home to fewer than 4,500 inhabitants, St Helena could only be reached by sea until an airport opened a decade ago (the nearest land – Angola in West Africa is 1,150 miles away).
It’s been four years (HMS Protector in 2021) since the Royal Navy last visited the British Territory, and a decade since the Royal Fleet Auxiliary – the navy’s crucial support ships – in the form of tanker Gold Rover.
Indeed, so isolated is the island that many of its children had never seen a helicopter – until the Merlin from Tidespring appeared.
The helicopter, normally based with 814 Naval Air Squadron at Culdrose in Cornwall, has been attached to the tanker throughout her mission performing a combination of general duties and its dedicated role of hunting submarines.
It flew ahead of the ship to give some of the RFA crew a rare bird’s eye view of St Helena, as well as capture some aerial video and stills of the island.
The next morning, the ship arrived, anchoring at first light in James Bay off the capital Jamestown – the small harbour cannot accommodate a ship of Tidespring’s size.
A brief but fantastic visit, offering the ship’s company a rare opportunity to visit of one the most remote islands in the world, and highlights the UKs commitment to its overseas territories.
The tanker came to a stop just four cables – ¾km – from the wreck of RFA Darkdale, which was torpedoed and sunk by a U-boat in 1941.
Commanding Officer Captain James Wingrove RFA laid a wreath at the Cenotaph to commemorate all those perished on the Darkdale prior to proceeding to Plantation House for a reception with the Acting Governor Tasha Harris.
As well as the governor, Plantation House is also home to Jonathan the Giant Seychelles Tortoise, the oldest living creature on Earth (circa 194 years old).
Despite the brevity of the visit, 100 of the 107-strong ship’s company managed to get ashore, many opting to have a crack at the infamous Jacob’s Ladder (699 steps rising 600ft on a 2:5 incline, linking Jamestown with an historic fort above the town). The record for the ascent (4m 40.75s was never in danger).
Many crew wandered off to visit the tomb of Napoleon (Boney spent his final years exiled on the island after Waterloo; his body was subsequently returned to France and its present home in Paris), bought souvenirs (fridge magnets and the world’s rarest and purest honey), and were warmly received by the Jamestown community throughout.
“A brief but fantastic visit, offering the ship’s company a rare opportunity to visit of one the most remote islands in the world, and highlights the UKs commitment to its overseas territories,” said Captain Wingrove.
“The hospitality and the warm welcome was greatly received by all, hopefully ships can visit sooner and more often.”