RFA Lyme Bay ( L3007 ) RFA " Lyme Bay " ( L3007 ) is a Bay class auxiliary landing ship dock ( LSD ( A ) ) of the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary ( RFA ) . Ordered from Swan Hunter in 2000 , the ship was launched in 2005 . However , cost overruns and delays saw the shipbuilder removed from the project , and the incomplete ship was towed to Govan for finishing by BAE Systems Naval Ships . " Lyme Bay " entered service in late 2007 ; the last ship of the class to join the RFA . Design and construction . The Bay class was designed as a replacement for the Round Table class logistics ships operated by the RFA . The new design was based on the Royal Schelde Enforcer design ; a joint project between the Dutch and Spanish resulting in the " Rotterdam " class and " Galicia " class amphibious warfare ships . The main difference with the British ships is the lack of a helicopter hangar . The ships were originally designated " Auxiliary Landing Ship Logistics " or ALSL , but this was changed in 2002 to " Landing Ship Dock ( Auxiliary ) " or LSD ( A ) , better reflecting their operational role . Four ships were ordered ; two from Swan Hunter , and two from BAE Systems Naval Ships . The Bay class ships have a full load displacement of . Each is long , with a beam of , and a draught of . Propulsion power is provided by two Wärtsilä 8L26 generators , providing , and two Wärtsilä 12V26 generators , providing . These are used to drive two steerable azimuth thruster s , with a bow thruster supplementing . Maximum speed is , and the Bay class ships can achieve a range of at . " Lyme Bay " is armed with two 30 mm DS30B cannons , four Mk . 44 miniguns , six 7 . 62mm L7 GPMG s , and two Phalanx CIWS . The standard ship ' s company consists of 60 officers and sailors . As a sealift ship , " Lyme Bay " is capable of carrying up to 24 Challenger 2 tanks or 150 light trucks in 1 , 150 linear metres of space . The cargo capacity is equivalent of 200 tons of ammunition , or 24 Twenty - foot equivalent unit containers . During normal conditions , a Bay class ship can carry 356 soldiers , but this can be almost doubled to 700 in overload conditions . No helicopters are carried on board , but the flight deck is capable of handling helicopters up to the size of Chinooks , as well as Merlin helicopters and Osprey tiltrotor aircraft . The well dock can carry one LCU Mark 10 or two LCVPs , and two Mexeflote s can be suspended from the ship ' s flanks . Two 30 - ton cranes are fitted between the superstructure and the flight deck . " Lyme Bay " and sister ship were ordered from Swan Hunter on 18 December 2000 . " Lyme Bay " was laid down at Swan Hunter ' s shipyard at Wallsend , Tyne and Wear on 22 November 2002 . The ship was launched on 3 September 2005 . The Bay class construction project saw major delays and cost overruns , particularly in the Swan Hunter half of the project . Shortly after " Largs Bay " was handed over to the RFA , Swan Hunter was stripped from the project , with BAE taking full responsibility for the class on 13 June 2006 . " Lyme Bay " was towed to BAE ' s shipyard in Gowan for completion , departing on 16 July and arriving on the River Clyde on 22 July . The ship was the last to be built on the River Tyne , and the only warship built by Swan Hunter but not completed . BAE completed construction , and " Lyme Bay " was dedicated on 26 November 2007 ; the last ship of the class to enter RFA service . Operational history . " Lyme Bay " was deployed for three years on a Maritime Security Patrol in the Persian Gulf , based in Bahrain , acting in a support role of coalition and allied forces . In June 2012 , " Lyme Bay " sailed from Bahrain to return home to the UK undergo a planned refit and regeneration period . She was seen in the port of Falmouth , Cornwall during early July 2012 and in February 2013 was at Plymouth . On 25 April 2013 , the vessel was located in the Irish Sea off of Northern Ireland . In August 2013 , she joined the COUGAR 13 task group . On 16 October 2013 she joined Operation Atalanta , the EU ’ s counter - piracy force off Somalia ; she will rejoin the COUGAR group in mid - November . Citations . Still in refit at Falmouth , Cornwall .