RFA ARGUS - A135

Seen sailing from Glen Mallan this afternoon was RFA ARGUS, a ship built in 1981 by the Italian shipyard Cantieri Navale Breda as the container ship CONTENDER BEZANT. During the Falklands War in 1982, she was taken over by the Ministry of Defence and later converted at Belfast to become an Aviation Training Ship. Renamed ARGUS, her new role was to train navy helicopter pilots while she could also be adapted to act as a logistics ship. ARGUS is equipped with a large hospital facility including two operating theatres and beds for up to 100 casualties. Despite this, she is not designated as a hospital ship, but rather as a Primary Casualty Reception Ship. She is 175.1 metres long, and has a displacement of 28,481 tonnes.