RFA Reduces Fleet to Recover Workforce, Plans New Crews

Commodore Sam Shattock, head of service for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), announced a deliberate cut to six crewed vessels. The two remaining ships are kept in maintenance as “going concerns” while personnel are focused on a smaller fleet to ensure safe crewing.

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RFA operations a year and a half ago involved eight to nine ships on paper, with crews shuffled between vessels and staff stretched thin. Maritime regulators warned that such crewing jeopardised safety. Retention suffered from pay below commercial maritime rates, leaving some junior sailors earning less than minimum wage.

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• Outflow fell from ~15 % (early 2025) to <10 % (early 2026).

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• Workforce now supports crewing RFA Tiderace in 2026 and an eighth ship in 2027.

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• RFA owns eight vessels; six are crewed.

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• Annual wage bill (incl. pensions) under £100 million.

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• RMT union staged a 24-hour strike on 12 May 2026, second in two years.

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Shattock said concentrating crews on fewer ships was needed to avoid risk and noted the service is now ‘performing reasonably well’ in filling cadet and apprentice slots via the Merchant Navy Training Board and the UK Chamber of Shipping. He also cited a leave-ratio policy and Wi-Fi on all active vessels. The RMT union called pay the main barrier to retention.

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The RMT union argued that years of below-average pay settlements have left sailors earning less than civilian maritime peers, with some junior staff effectively below minimum wage. They contend the modest £100 million wage bill means a pay rise would have limited fiscal impact.

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• “Cdre Shattock explained that when he took up the head of service role around 18 months ago, the RFA was operating 8 or 9 ships on paper but doing so by moving personnel between vessels and stretching the workforce dangerously thin.” — Commodore Sam Shattock, Head of Service, RFA

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• “Rather than continue to take risks, he made the decision to concentrate the available workforce on a smaller number of ships, reducing the operating fleet to six while the others were held alongside, funded and maintained as going concerns.” — Commodore Sam Shattock

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• “Based on that improvement, the RFA plans to crew a seventh ship later this year (RFA Tiderace) and, if workforce growth continues, the eighth ship next year.” — Commodore Sam Shattock

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• “Retention remains the more pressing concern.” — Commodore Sam Shattock

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RFA Tiderace should enter service later in 2026, with an eighth vessel planned for 2027 if workforce growth continues. RFA Fort Victoria will begin a refit in September 2026, aiming for a 2027 return. The service will continue its careers-at-sea outreach and seek pay-review talks with the government and the RMT union.

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