An auxiliary ship is a naval ship which is designed to operate in any number of roles supporting combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliaries are not primary combatants, although they may have some limited combat capacity, usually of a defensive nature. USS Port Royal (CG-73), a Ticonderoga class cruiser. ... In military science, defense (or defence) is the art of preventing an enemy from conquering territory. ...

Auxiliaries are extremely important for navies of all sizes, as without them, the primary fleet vessels can not be effective. Thus, nearly every navy maintains an extensive fleet of auxiliaries. However, the composition and size of these auxiliary fleets varies depending on the nature of each navy and its primary mission. Smaller coastal navies tend to have smaller auxiliary vessels focusing primarily on littoral and training support roles. Larger blue water navies tend to have large auxiliary fleets comprising longer-range fleet support vessels designed to provide support far beyond territorial waters. The multinational Combined Task Force One Five Zero (CTF-150) The British Grand Fleet, the supreme naval force of WW1 A rare occurrence of a 5-country multinational fleet, during Operation Enduring Freedom in the Oman Sea. ... A rare occurrence of a 5-country multinational fleet, during Operation Enduring Freedom in the Oman Sea. ...

Roles

• Replenishment: One of the most direct ways that auxiliaries support the fleet is by providing underway replenishment to major fleet units. This allows the fleet to remain on station, with the replenishment vessels bringing up fuel, ammunition, food, and supplies from shore to the fleet wherever it is operating. Oilers are vessels specifically designed to bring fuel oil to the fleet, while the earlier Colliers supplied coal burning steamships. Tenders are specifically designed to support a type of smaller naval unit, most often submarines or seaplanes, providing a mobile base of operations for these units.
• Transport: Supporting forward operating bases requires immense transportation capacity. Transports are often converted merchant ships simply commissioned into naval service. Tankers are transports specifically designed to ship fuel to forward locations. Transports are often employed not only carrying cargo for naval support, but in support of all forces of a nation's military. In particular, troopships are used to carry large number of soldiers to operational theatres.
• Repair: Repairing ships at sea or in forward areas is important as it allows these units to return to service quicker, while also increasing the chance of survival for ships critically damaged in battle. Repair vessels range from small equipment ships to floating dry docks.
• Harbor: Harbor support is a critical support role, with various types of vessels including tugboats, barges, lighters, derricks, and others, used to move ships and equipment around the port facilities and service ships currently in the harbor. These vessels also help maintain the harbor by dredging channels, maintaining jetties and buoys, and even providing floating platforms for port defense weapons.
• Research: A wide variety of vessels are employed for reasearch and survey, primarily to provide a navy with a better understanding of its operating environment, or to assist in testing new technologies for employment in other vessels.

Underway Replenishment. ... An oiler is a ship, also called a tanker, that can carry a liquid cargo of petroleum, or a naval support vessel that carries fuel to other naval ships steaming at sea, and can transfer the fuel during underway RAS improved fleet operations reliability, availabiltiy and serviceability. ... Collier may refer to: a bulk cargo ship that carried coal. ... Paddle steamers - Lucerne-Switzerland Left: original paddlewheel from a paddle steamer on the lake of Lucerne. ... Tender may mean: one of several types of boat or ship, all sharing the general function of servicing another type of air or sea vessel: seaplane tender - supplies and services seaplanes submarine tender - resupplies submarines motor torpedo boat tender - resupplies motor torpedo boats ships tender - used to transport people... HMS Vanguard, a Vanguard-class nuclear ballistic missile (SSBN) submarine HMCS Windsor, a Victoria-class diesel-electric hunter-killer (SSK) submarine HMAS Collins, a Collins-class diesel-electric guided missile (SSG) submarine USS Virginia, a Virginia-class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate... A DeHavilland Single Otter floatplane in Harbour Air livery. ... A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries goods and materials from one port to another. ... In law a commission is a patent which allows a person to take possession of a state office and carry out official acts and duties. ... A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. ... USS John Land (AP-167) in San Francisco Bay sometime in 1945-46; soldiers crowd the decks in anticipation of homecoming. ... U.S. Navy submarine USS Greeneville in dry dock following collision with a fishing boat. ... This article is about the boat. ... Self propelled barge carrying bulk crushed stone A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. ... Lighter riding the current under Tower Bridge, London, circa 1928 A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods to and from moored ships. ... A derrick is a lifting device composed of one mast or pole which is hinged freely at the bottom. ... Alternate meanings: See Jetty (web server) Alternate meanings: See Jettying in buildings The term jetty, derived from the French jetie, and therefor signifying something thrown out, is applied to a variety of structures employed in river, dock and maritime works which are generally carried out in pairs from river banks... A sea lion on navigational buoy #14 in San Diego Harbor A buoy is a floating device that can have various purposes, which determine whether the buoy is anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift: The word is derived from the Dutch boei. In North American English it is pronounced as...

See also