Logistic Ship "Patiño" (A-14)

The auxiliary oiler and replenishment ship (AOR) ‘Patiño’ along with her sister ship ‘Cantabria’ are the core of the Logistic Fleet of the Spanish Navy. They are part of the 31st Surface Squadron stationed in Ferrol Naval Base.

The 'Patiño' was built in the middle of the 90’s by Navantia Shipyards in Ferrol. With more than 25 years of service, she has successfully served the Spanish Navy to operate in harmony with the evolving nature of naval operations.

Displacement: 17.050 tons.

Length: 167 m.

Beam: 22 m.

Draft: 8 m.

Propulsion: 2 Diesel engines (100890 HP each)

Max speed: 22 knots

Range: 6.000 nm at 13 knots.

Aircraft: Hangar for SH-3D or SH-60B helicopters.

Crew: 152

As an auxiliary oiler and replenishment ship, the main mission of the ‘Patiño’ is to supply fuel, fresh water, ammunition, provisions, spare parts, military equipment, medicines and medical assistance to other combat units at sea.

The design of the ship, in collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Navy, caters for the capability to supply a Combat Group made up by an aircraft-carrier, five frigates and twenty embarked aircraft during a sustained period of 20 days. The ship has 5 RAS stations for liquid and 4 stations for solid cargo.

In addition, the ‘Patiño’ has an on board hospital with an operating theatre, X-rays, different laboratories and tele-medicine capability. The A-14 has also 4 ICU beds.

Her home base is Ferrol (Corunna) and is usually berthed in Navantia’s shipyards in the Ferrol Estuary.

Weapons:

• Two 12.7 mm BROWNING medium machineguns.
• 4 MG-42 light machineguns.
• 2 RWS (Remote Weapon System).

Sensors:

• 1 F-band radar for helicopter control with IFF transponder system.
• 1 I-band LPI navigation radar.
• 1 I-band Sperry Marine Navigation radar.
• SIMRAD 4G.
• Elnath ESM-COM System.
• Aldebaran ESM System.

Miscellaneous:

• 7.000 cubic meters of F76.
• 2.000 cubic meters of F44.
• 200 tons of fresh water.
• 115 cubic meters of dry provisions.
• 68 cubic meters of fresh provisions.
• 50 cubic meters of frozen provisions.
• 200 tons of spare parts, ammunition and supplies.

The ship is named after José Patiño y Rosales (1666-1736), Secretary of the Navy, the West Indies and Chancellor of the Exchequer, who spent most of his life serving the State, and organizing the Spanish Navy arsenals and shipyards.

The ‘Patiño’ is the result of the first 50% collaboration program between Spain and the Netherlands for the development of new naval units. Her sister ship, HNLMS ‘Amsterdam’ (A-836) was subsequently transferred to the Peruvian Navy as BAP ‘Tacna’ (ARL-158).

Her construction started in September 1992 at Bazán Shipyards in Ferrol with prefabricated blocks, weapons and workshop modules, following the innovative Integrated Construction System. This system permits works in parallel as opposed to the traditional sequential shipbuilding scheme, resulting in better working conditions, quality and accomplishment.

The keel was laid on July 1st 1993 and was launched on June 22nd 1994. Her sponsor was HRH Margarita de Borbón, sister of HM the King. The ship was delivered to the Spanish Navy in June 1995.

The ‘Patiño’ received her Battle Ensign in Vigo on March 26th 1998 from Mrs. María de los Ángeles Callejo, wife of the City Mayor.

Before the present ship, there was another one with the name ‘Patiño’. She was a steam transport ship with light weapons acting as mail ship, troops transport and escort of Squadrons as logistic mobile base. She was bought in the UK in 1859 and served in Spanish colonies in Fernando Poo (Africa) and the Philippines. She was decommissioned in 1879.

The motto of the ‘Patiño’ reads: NON VENIT MINISTRARI, SED MINISTRARE (I did not come to be served, but to serve) and refers to her mission of supplying provisions to Spanish Navy fleet and Allied units.

The ship’s complement is made up by 22 officers, 28 NCOs and 102 ratings and seamen who work in the five existing services: Operations, Engines, Replenishment, Ship Control and Health Service.

Since her launching, the ship has participated in many national and international operations and exercises, among them, the UN embargo operation ‘Sharp Guard’ in former Yugoslavia in 1996; operation ‘Allied Action’ in Kosovo in 1998; two deployments in the Indian Ocean in the course of operation ‘Enduring Freedom’ where the ship ‘So San’ (with 15 SCUD missiles on board) was seized in 2002; the amphibious operation ‘Libre Hidalgo’ in 2006; and more recently operation ‘Active Endeavour’ in the Mediterranean (2009-2010) and operation ‘Atalanta’ in the fight against piracy in the Horn of Africa. In this latter operation the ship performed as EUNAVFOR Command Ship (CTF 465).

The ‘Patiño’ has been part of several NATO and EU Naval Forces in the Mediterranean and Atlantic (SNMG-1, SNMG-2, and EUROMARFOR) and has also participated in many multinational exercises in the Mediterranean, North Sea, Arctic Sea and the South Atlantic.

In 2017 the A-14 participated in the counter-piracy Operation ‘Atalanta’ in the Indian Ocean relieving the OPV ‘Rayo’. In 2019 and 2020 she integrated into the SNMG-2 in the Mediterranean Sea.

During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the ‘Patiño’ was in readiness as part of the MoD-led ‘Balmis’ operation as a hospital ship for care and treatment of virus-affected patients and the transport of medicines wherever her services were required.

In 2022, the ‘Patiño’ participated in the naval review organized on the occasion of the 500 anniversary of the first circumnavigation of the world. At the end of that same year, the ship successfully passed the programmed operational qualification trials to be able to deploy in 2023 as part of NATO’s Standing Maritime Groups 1 and 2 in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.