An unusual ship showed up early Tuesday, November 19 in the harbor of Toulon, before mooring in the Var naval base, near the Jacques Chevallier, the first of four new force supply vessels (BRF) of the French Navy. . This is the American tanker Stena Polaris, one of the civilian tankers chartered by the US Navy to complement its logistics fleet. It will carry out tests this week with the BRF as part of the development of new capabilities desired by the French fleet, Mer et Marine has learned.
Built in 2010 in Split, Croatia, the Stena Polaris belongs to the Swedish group Stena Bulk but has been registered in the United States since 2022 due to its recent employment for the US Navy. 180 meters long and 40 meters wide, this ship designed for the transport of refined products, including diesel, has a deadweight of 65,000 tonnes. It is part of a flotilla of five civilian tankers chartered by the US Navy and also including the Empire State and the Evergreen State (58,700 dwt), the SLNC Goodwill (62,100 dwt) as well as the SLNC Pax (10,000 dwt). Dependent on the Military Sealift Command (MSC), these ships are responsible in particular for supplying the fuel reserves of American naval bases and other military establishments in the United States. The Stena Polaris, for example, frequents the Spanish port of Rota where several US Navy destroyers are based. But these civilian tankers also contribute, if necessary, to supporting the supply units that the MSC arms for the benefit of the logistical support of the American Navy.
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The Stena Polaris arriving in Toulon on November 19.
The Stena Polaris during its docking maneuver at Milhaud next to the BRF Jacques Chevallier.
This is the whole purpose of the presence of the Stena Polaris in Toulon, Mer et Marine learned. The ship, which must remain until November 24, docked at the new wharf number 1 in Milhaud, where the brand new BRF of the French Navy, the Jacques Chevallier, is also moored (on the other side of the wharf). . “This involves validating a refueling procedure (of the BRF) with chartered civilian tankers,” military sources explain. This week, the procedure for refueling a BRF at the quay will be validated, but the French Navy also intends to have this capacity for fuel transhipment operations at sea, whether at anchor or en route, which allow tankers chartered by the US Navy which are equipped for transshipments while at sea, such as military supply ships.
The advantage is to be able to rely on chartered tankers to refill the bunkers of the BRFs, responsible for ensuring logistical support for combat units, starting with the aircraft carrier, by supplying them with propulsion fuel, jet fuel for aircraft, but also in food, ammunition and spare parts. For this, supply vessels form the noria between theaters of operations and ports located more or less far away. They can also use another military supply, French or foreign, before returning to combat units. While for long-term operations the fuel requirements are significant, the available bunkering points can be far away and the number of supply vessels is limited (the French Navy currently only has two operational units, the old BCR Sum and the first of four BRFs ordered from Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Naval Group), we clearly understand the interest in also being able to rely on civilian tankers. This makes it possible to guarantee the necessary supply, including if the countries in a region where the French navy operates prohibit access to their ports, while making it possible to limit in certain cases the duration of norias for supply vessels. “It’s about gaining elongation, endurance and resilience,” says an officer.
The BRF refueling at sea a frigate and the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
This week, the Jacques Chevallier will therefore be qualified for fuel supplies at the dock from a civilian tanker, without however a real transfer of fuel being necessary between the two boats. Only the procedure will be validated. Subsequently, tests may be conducted at sea in order to qualify all the possibilities offered by this additional logistics capacity.
It should be remembered that the use of civilian tankers by the French fleet is not new. Forty years ago, the French Navy chartered French tankers for its refueling needs. It went even further to the epic since these civilian ships could directly replenish the holds of combat units, starting with the aircraft carriers Clemenceau and Foch. Thus, while waiting for the commissioning in 1983 and 1987 of the old command and supply vessels (BCR) Marne and Var, which were to reinforce the oil-replenishment tankers (PR) Durance (1977) and Meuse (1980), the navy had chartered Port Vendres for one year in August 1982. Built in 1975, this 175 meter vessel with a deadweight of 25,250 tonnes belonged to the French shipping companies Soflumar and Socatra. It had been equipped to be able to refuel at sea, in torque and in boom, the vessels of the National Navy, including aircraft carriers. The charter of Port Vendres was ultimately renewed several times, while two other tankers from Soflumar and Socatra, the Mascarin and Penhors, built in 1986, had also been equipped with a refueling system at sea. But they did not were ultimately not used for the benefit of the French fleet and the chartering of Port Vendres ended with the construction of a third BCR, the Somme, which entered the fleet in 1990 and which is the last of the series still operational today. today.
Port Vendres in 1985.
It now remains to be seen whether the French Navy decides to contract services with ships chartered by the US Navy, or whether it is possible to find a solution with French shipping companies. Everything will depend on the needs, their regularity, the availability of ships and of course the costs that this represents. Most civilian tankers, which meet the same international norms and standards, are in any case capable of carrying out fuel transfers at the dock or at sea, the latter practice being currently very popular with the ghost fleet which allows Russia to circumvent international sanctions on its oil exports.
The French Navy itself already occasionally uses civilian tankers to supply the holds of its combat vessels, including on the open sea. Thus, last April, off the coast of the Antilles, the amphibious helicopter carrier (PHA ) Tonnerre had stocked up on diesel at anchor with the Scot Munschen, a small tanker 117 meters long and a little over 8,000 tonnes deadweight.
The PHA Tonnerre refueling from the Scot Munschen.
The use of civilian ships is in no way intended to replace the renewal of the military logistics fleet, which will continue. The Jacques Chevallier, delivered in July 2023, must very soon be admitted to active service before its deployment within the naval strike group led by the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle which will evolve in the coming months as far as the Pacific Ocean. First twin of the Jacques Chevallier, the Jacques Stosskopf, launched in August in Saint-Nazaire, is due to reach Toulon in the summer of 2025. Already under construction, the third BRF, which will be named Émile Bertin, will be delivered in 2027 and will have Brest as its home port, where it will replace the old BCR Somme. As for the fourth building in this series, the Gustave Zédé, its completion, initially planned for 2029, was postponed until after 2030 for budgetary reasons but its construction is well maintained, the contractual penalties being too high for its cancellation to be financially interesting for the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
194 meters long with a width of 27.6 meters and a displacement of 31,000 tonnes at full load, the BRFs are equipped with four supply arms making it possible to simultaneously serve two combat units at sea, with fuel as well as heavy loads. Their carrying capacity is 10,800 tonnes of fuel (for ships and aircraft) and 1500 tonnes of solid cargo. They also have developed medical facilities and can accommodate an on-board staff.
These buildings are also made to military standards, with greater robustness and ability to withstand blows than civilian ships, not to mention the fact that they have powerful detection means and are armed with two 40 mm RAPIDFire cannons. , light artillery and two Simbad-RC short-range surface-to-air systems. Enough to ensure their protection against adverse attacks, in particular when they provide waterwheels and are not escorted by a frigate. Given the evolution of threats, it would no longer be possible today, or extremely risky, to use civilian tankers to directly resupply combat units. But they can still be used as long as they remain outside danger zones, in particular for the supply of military logistics units.
1. How does the use of civilian tankers by the French Navy compare to other navies, such as the US Navy, in terms of refueling capabilities and logistical support for combat operations?
2. What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of using civilian tankers for fuel transfers versus relying solely on military supply vessels?
3. What factors might influence the decision to contract services with chartered civilian tankers versus utilizing French shipping companies for these purposes?
4. Can you explain the process of validating a refueling procedure with chartered civilian tankers and its importance for the French Navy’s logistical operations?
5. How do the capabilities of the newly commissioned Jacques Chevallier BRF compare to those of the older BCR Somme and what role do BRFs play in maintaining the endurance and resilience of the French Navy during long-term operations?
