The UK Royal Navy have contracted the Nato Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) to provide fuel and other port services on a global scale for the next ten years.
This €1bn ($1.13bn) deal builds on a pre-existing partnership between the two organisations formed in 2021 which covered non-C4ISR projects.
NSPA are able to deliver fuel anywhere in the world excluding Antarctica, communist-controlled countries, and certain embargoed nations. As of 1 May 2025, the NSPA source fuel from three maritime fuel suppliers: Stonewin, Monjasa and Glander.
Besides the UK, the NSPA also provide fuel to 19 other partners in the Naval Logistics Support Partnership: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and Türkiye.
Forward presence
The contract comes at a good time as the Royal Navy officially embraced a new strategy of forward presence in December 2024.
Forward deployment eliminates long transit times and allows ships to remain in specific operational zones indefinitely.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThis nimble force structure is already a proven concept. The service already forward deploys Batch 2 River-class Offshore Patrol Vessels – HMSs Forth, Medway, Trent, Tamar, and Spey – in the South Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indo-Pacific regions, where they are proving a diplomatic and military success.
NSPA’s fuel service will provide crucial logistics at ports around the world to sustain Royal Navy operations as part of this model.
The UK has leaned on allies for logistics and replenishment in the past. A year ago, the service made use of Anglo-French connections to deliver ammunition to HMS Tamar which was operating in French Polynesia in the South Pacific, where there is no UK territory.
While fuel is more readily accessible in these instances than ammunition, the NSPA agreement still serves to diversify, and thus ensure, the timely replenishment of British vessels abroad. Especially as the NSPA have proven their effectiveness with more than 2,000 port visits worldwide in 2024 alone.
Operation Highmast
Notably, Nato’s fuelling service will be available to Royal Navy ships at ports during the eight-month long journey of the multinational carrier strike group (CSG), known as Operation Highmast.
The voyage to the Indo-Pacific is led by the UK aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales.
It is uncertain whether New Zealand – a South Pacific nation and an non-Nato ally – is able to benefit from the NSPA fuelling service while the Anzac-class frigate, HMNZS Te Kaha, participates in the British CSG in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
