World Wide Replenishment at Sea

Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics

The ability to do underway replenishment, or replenishment at sea, provides navies with the ability to deploy world wide, and to maintain presence forward for months on end on a continuous basis. Warships typically carry enough fuel to sail 6,000 or 7,000 nautical miles. This is roughly the distance from East Asia to the Middle East. Navies which lack Replenishment at Sea capabilities are basically local defense forces - Green Water, but not truely Blue Water.

A pair of replenishment ships is probably the minimum needed for a credible force, as ships are temporarily withdrawn from service for periodic maintenance. Taiwan was made painfully aware of this in 2009, when it was unable to deploy against the Somali pirates as its sole replenishment ship was in overhaul.

Nothing so clearly demonstrates the rise of Chinese seapower as the fact that China has risen to third place in this essential element of maritime power projection. China will probably surpass the Royal Navy by the end of this decade. The Soviet Union never really got the hang of underway replenishment during the Cold War.

Ammunition transports (special weapons and ammunition transports) are intended for delivering items of armament and ammunition to ship force operating areas. Oilers are employed for transporting oil products, replenishing the fuel stores of combatant ships, as well as for underway replenishment of other kinds of supplies. All-purpose supply transports provide underway replenishment of combatant ships with fuel including aviation fuel, food products, fresh water and other supplies.