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World Shipping DirectoryCompanies · Ships · Fleets

A public reference property of Baalvion

Open data · every figure carries its source

World Shipping DirectoryCompanies · Ships · Fleets

His Majesty's Naval Service

State-operated fleet

Headquarters: United Kingdom
Founded: 1630
Employees: —

Ships in this registry

Counted from individual vessel records · Wikidata

Reported fleet size

—

No published figure available

Container capacity

—

Not a ranked container line

Gross tonnage on record

240,118

Summed over 9 ships reporting tonnage

In brief

What His Majesty's Naval Service is

Full article ↗

His Majesty's Naval Service, referred to colloquially as the Royal Navy, is the United Kingdom's naval warfare and maritime service. It consists of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Maritime Reserve, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and Naval Careers Service. The Naval Service as a whole falls under the command of the Navy Board, which is headed by the First Sea Lord. This position is currently held by General Sir Gwyn Jenkins (appointed May 2025). The Defence Council delegates administration of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence.

The Naval Service is dominated by the Royal Navy, and operates primarily from three bases in the United Kingdom where commissioned ships are based; Portsmouth, Clyde and Devonport, the last being the largest operational naval base in Western Europe. As of July 2026, there were more than 85 vessels in service with the various branches of the Naval Service, plus more than 90 additional vessels operated by the supporting Serco Marine Services. These vessels included: 60 commissioned and active ships of the Royal Navy, 17 principal landing craft of the Royal Marines, 9 auxiliary ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and 90+ supporting Marine Services vessels. Additional vessels are under charter to the Ministry of Defence.

Corporate profile

Identity and registration

Legal name: —
Industry: —
Legal form: —
Country of registration: United Kingdom
Headquarters: —
Formed in: —
Founded: 1630
Dissolved: —
Employees: —
Head office coordinates: —

Ships on record here: 12
Vessel types operated: 2
Flag states used: 1
Average vessel age: 30.0 years
Oldest vessel on record: 1954
Newest vessel on record: 2018
Largest vessel by tonnage: 29,324
Average tonnage: 26,680
Market share: —
Parent company: British Armed Forces
Alliance: —
Record source: wikidata

Corporate structure

Ownership and holdings

Parent company

British Armed Forces

Subsidiaries and units (7)

Royal Navy124 shipsNaval Careers ServiceWomen's Royal Naval ServiceRoyal MarinesFleet Air ArmQueen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing ServiceRoyal Naval Minewatching Service

Fleet on record

What this company sails

Composition of the 12 vessels this registry attributes to His Majesty's Naval Service. Bars are true proportions of that set, not of the company's full fleet.

By vessel type

Naval / patrol10

Unclassified2

By flag state

United Kingdom12

By shipbuilder

Hanwha Ocean4

BAE Systems3

James Laing & Sons1

Scott Lithgow1

Swan Hunter1

Harland and Wolff1

BAE Systems Marine1

Delivery history

10-year fleet record

Ships delivered in each of the last 10 years, counted from the recorded build year of vessels attributed to this company, with the running total of its fleet on record. 3 deliveries fall inside this window.

Year	Ships delivered	Gross tonnage added	Fleet on record
2017	1	29,324	9
2018	2	58,648	11
2019	0	—	11
2020	0	—	11
2021	0	—	11
2022	0	—	11
2023	0	—	11
2024	0	—	11
2025	0	—	11
2026	0	—	11

Vessel records

Ships on record

12 vessels

Ship	IMO	Type	Flag	Built	Gross tonnage	Deadweight	Length	Builder
RFA Tideforce	9655561	Naval / patrol	United Kingdom	—	29,324	—	200.9 m	Hanwha Ocean
RFA Tiderace	9655547	Naval / patrol	United Kingdom	2018	29,324	—	201.0 m	Hanwha Ocean
RFA Tidespring	9655535	Naval / patrol	United Kingdom	2017	29,324	—	200.9 m	Hanwha Ocean
RFA Tidesurge	9655559	Naval / patrol	United Kingdom	2018	29,324	—	200.9 m	Hanwha Ocean
RFA Fort Victoria	8606032	Unclassified	United Kingdom	1993	28,821	—	203.0 m	Harland and Wolff
RFA Cardigan Bay	9240782	Naval / patrol	United Kingdom	2006	23,569	—	176.6 m	BAE Systems
RFA Lyme Bay	9240768	Naval / patrol	United Kingdom	2007	23,569	—	177.0 m	BAE Systems
RFA Mounts Bay	9240770	Naval / patrol	United Kingdom	2006	23,569	—	176.6 m	BAE Systems
RFA Wave Ruler	9168609	Naval / patrol	United Kingdom	2003	23,294	—	196.3 m	BAE Systems Marine
RFA Fort Austin	7342938	Naval / patrol	United Kingdom	1979	—	—	185.1 m	Scott Lithgow
RFA Reliant	5292646	Unclassified	United Kingdom	1954	—	—	142.9 m	James Laing & Sons
RFA Tidereach	5361021	Naval / patrol	United Kingdom	1955	—	—	177.8 m	Swan Hunter

Ships in registry counts individual vessel records attributed to the company here. Reported fleet is the company’s published total. They measure different things and are shown separately on purpose.

In context

How His Majesty's Naval Service compares

Counts over companies and vessels actually held in this directory — not over the world fleet, which is larger. Nothing here is estimated.

United Kingdom is the country of registration for 97 commercial operators in this directory. Between them those companies hold 260 vessels here. See every operator registered in United Kingdom.