RFA Olna (A123) was an Ol-class "fast fleet tanker"

Replenishment Oiler

A replenishment oiler or fleet tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds, which can replenish other ships while underway in the high seas. Such ships are used by several countries around the world....

 of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the British Ministry of Defence. The RFA enables ships of the United Kingdom Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world. Its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment...

. Her design was a development of the Tide-class

Tide class replenishment oiler

The Tide class was a series of replenishment oilers used by the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary , the Royal Australian Navy , and the Chilean Navy....

 ships of the late 1950s.

Service history

Olna entered service as the UK was pulling back from its final large imperial garrisons. Much of the ship's early life was spent supporting routine deployments around the world.

In 1982 Olna left for the south Atlantic as part of the second wave of ships to leave the UK during the Falklands War

Falklands War

The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...

. That group was centred around the destroyer HMS Bristol

Bristol group

The Bristol group was a group of British warships that were sent to the "Total Exclusion Zone" as reinforcements late in the Falklands War. It consisted of:DestroyersFrigatesRoyal Fleet Auxiliaries*RFA Bayleaf*RFA Olna...

. Once Olna reached theatre, its time was primarily spent fuelling the carrier battle group.

In 1990, another wartime deployment beckoned. As forces built up in the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

, Olna joined the British task force on station. Olna arrived in August 1990, shortly after Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 invaded Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

, and apart from a short maintenance period in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 was on station for the whole duration of the conflict. Olna operated further north than any other tanker as the US Navy was wary of mines after two ships had been severely damaged.

At the end of the 1990s, retirement was in sight. 1999 and 2000 were spent in mothballs at Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

 until the outbreak of a crisis in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

 called for Olna to make one last deployment. The ship did not proceed to Sierra Leone, but instead relieved other RFA vessels of participation in a major exercise off Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Following this exercise, the ship returned to reserve and decommissioned soon thereafter. In March 2001 Olna was sold to a Turkish shipbreaking firm, but owing to the high quantity of asbestos aboard she was diverted to Greece before finally going to Indian breakers.