RFA Cardigan Bay ( L3009 ) RFA " Cardigan Bay " ( L3009 ) is a Bay - class landing ship dock of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ( RFA ) . Built by BAE Systems , the ship was dedicated into the RFA at the end of 2006 . " Cardigan Bay " is active as of 2013 . 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 . For self - defence , " Cardigan 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 , " Cardigan 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 . " Cardigan Bay " and sister ship were ordered from BAE on 19 November 2001 . " Cardigan Bay " was laid down at BAE ' s shipyard at Govan , Scotland on 13 October 2003 . Plans to launch the ship on 8 April 2005 were frustrated by high winds and unusually low tides ; the naming ceremony was carried out that day , and the actual launching took place the next day , with more favourable tide conditions . " Cardigan Bay " was dedicated on 18 December 2006 , the third of the class to enter service with the RFA . Operational history . " Cardigan Bay " has been deployed as part of the Royal Navy Response Force Task Group , carrying elements of 40 Commando . In June 2011 , the vessel headed to Yemen to aid with the potential evacuation of British citizens affected by the ongoing unrest in Yemen . The following month a landing craft from " Cardigan Bay " landed two BvS 10 Viking armoured vehicles and Royal Marines of 539 Assault Squadron in Somaliland . They penetrated several miles of " bandit country " to meet up with an important clan chief and take him back to " Cardigan Bay " for a meeting with MI6 and Foreign Office officials . This was part of Exercise Somaliland Cougar , an operation to train Somali coastguards in anti - piracy techniques and to establish relationships with tribal leaders .