RFA Argus, a ship that has been coming to Falmouth for the past 40 years, is nearing the end of her operational life and according to the UK National Audit Office (NAO) the Royal Navy, she will lose its medical and mine hunting capabilities by the end of the decade under the current ten-year equipment plan.

The MOD said “that it still has yet to settle on a plan to fill the capability gap left when the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Argus exits service in 2024".

The NAO found that the ten-year equipment plan continues to be unaffordable, with a black hole of up to £13bn.

The head of the NAO said: “The MOD has not made the necessary strategic decisions to address the 10-year affordability gap and there is evidence that its continued short-term focus on living within annual budgets is increasingly affecting the armed forces’ ability to maintain and enhance the UK’s military capability.

“The MOD needs to determine its strategic priorities so that it can develop an affordable long-term programme of investment.”

Argus is part of the Falmouth-based group of five Cluster ships that the A&P group are responsible for after it won a £239million Future In-Service Support (FISS) contract from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to refit three Bay Class RFA’s Lyme Bay, Cardigan Bay and Mounts Bay along with RFA Argus and the hydrographic ocean survey vessel HMS Scott.

The ten-year FISS contract will see A&P Group build on its long-standing relationship with the MOD and provide global maintenance support to these vessels.

Gerald Pitts, managing director of A&P Defence Division is the man, who along with his bid team spearheaded the A&P bid to win part of the wider £1billion MOD contract that secured 700 jobs across many UK shipyards.

The FISS contract runs from June 2018 until 2028. The MOD preamble to the contract states: “The support activities will include but are not limited to: planning for and execution of global repair and maintenance; operational defect rectification; obsolescence management; surface coatings and furnishings; risk management and design services; to pre-determined availability requirements; supported by an on-site joint MOD/industry team.”

If a decision is made not to replace Argus it will be a major blow for the A&P Group. Argus has seen sterling service during a long and distinguished career. The ship first came to Falmouth after the Falklands conflict as the container ship Contender Bezant.

Converted into an aviation training vessel for the Royal Navy and a Primary Casualty Receiving Ship Argus has state of the art medical facilities on-board which include a 100 bed ward, radiology, resuscitation and surgery facilities plus a CT scanner.

Despite the ship being due for retirement in just four years, the MOD told Naval Technology: “The consideration of options to deliver these capabilities after Argus leaves service remains ongoing.”

The ship took part in the first Gulf War providing medical facilities, saw service in West Africa during the Ebola outbreak, and has played a major role in humanitarian and disaster relief work in the Caribbean.