Spanish shipbuilder, Navantia has launched the second of the two Supply-class Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment (AOR) vessels ordered by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the future HMAS Stalwart (A304), during a ceremony at the Ferrol shipyard in Spain on August 30, 2019. The ship is due to enter service in 2022. The two 19,500-ton AOR vessels were ordered as part of an AUD642 million (USD432 million) contract signed in May 2016 under Australia’s Project Sea 1654 Phase 3 Maritime Operational Support Capability program. HMAS Stalwart (III) and her sister ship HMAS Supply (II) will replace HMAS Success and HMAS Sirius with a single class of two AOR Ships to sustain deployed maritime forces. The two ships are based on the Spanish Cantabria class and were built at the Ferrol shipyard.
