(A-04 & A-05 image). After the withdrawal of the logistics transport ships A-04Martin Posadillo and A-05El Camino Español, it was necessary to restore the capacity of the Spanish Army to be able to bring materials and support equipment to the units deployed outside of Spain. Mainly this transport would be made to Ceuta and Melilla, located in North Africa, and to the Canary and Balearic Islands, in addition to supporting the deployment of Spanish troops abroad if necessary. Due to the urgency of not losing this capacity, the Army focused on acquiring a second-hand ship, in good condition and in the shortest possible time, since the acquisition of new ships could take a minimum of 2 or 3 years.(Galicia ship). After several months of searching, in November 2020 it was possible to acquire the RO/RO vehicle transport vessel “Galicia” from the shipping company Suardiaz. The ship was built in 2003 by the Hijos de J. Barreras Shipyard, located in Vigo, and delivered to Suardiaz in December of the same year. The ship was the last built of a class of 7 units built for Suardiaz to carry out vehicle transfers through the so-called “maritime highways” between various European ports mainly. Between 2003 and 2017, the Galicia made voyages between the Port of Vigo and Saint-Nazaire, France. Later, between 2017 and 2020, she carried out the same task between Vigo and Tangier, Morocco but under Portuguese flag.Galicia ship cost 7.5 million euros, a really good price considering the capabilities and condition of the ship. The ship has been designated with the numeral A-06 Ysabel, to give continuity to the ships previously assigned to this task in the Spanish Navy. She is militarily designated as a “Roll on/roll off sealift ship” or AKR. Although the ship is operated by Navy personnel, the ship depends organically on the Army, which is the one who decides its missions and deployments. The ship is framed within the Logistics Support Group 23 (AALOG-23).The new ship A-06 Ysabel, is designated within the Spanish Army as “Buque de Transporte Logistico del Ejercito de Tierra”, (Land Army Logistics Transport Ship), or BTLET for its acronym in Spanish. The name honors Queen Isabella I of Castile, universally known by the nickname “La Católica”, (The Catholic), but the letter Y has been kept as a reference to the writing in Old Castilian.After the purchase, the ship was transferred to the Metalships & Docks Shipyard in Vigo, where it has been “militarized”. new interior access ramps for ro-ro cargo. In addition, various military equipment is being installed, such as interior telephones, self-defense weapons or anti-HAS, VERTREP refueling zone, military satellite communications radios and the installation of ammunition lockers. Likewise, the internal habitability for her crew is being improved, which is much greater than when she was a civilian ship. In a later phase, radars will be installed as well as a retractable bow mast to allow vertical refueling with helicopters (VERTREP) in the forecastle.This ship has a steel hull and was expressly designed for the transport of vehicles, so it has a rear “ramp-door” 15 meters long by 10 meters wide, which gives way to a 39-meter articulated deck by 3.5 meters. Likewise, on this deck there is a 29.5 meter by 3.5 meter “Hoistable Cardeck” type ramp that communicates with the upper deck. After the reconditioning work, the ship has six cargo decks with a capacity of 4,973 linear meters for light vehicles. The ship can also carry a combination of light and heavy vehicles, thus having 1,288 linear meters for heavy vehicles and 2,062 for light ones. The load capacity is about 4,225 tons, or what is the same, about 110 trailers between 32 and 54 tons or about 1,200 light vehicles.The A-06 Ysabel displaces more than 16,000 tons at full load and is almost 150 meters long by 21 meters wide. It has two diesel engines that develop a total power of 11,260 hp and can reach a maximum speed of 18 knots. The ship carries about 700 tons of diesel, which gives it a range of about 7,200 miles at cruising speed. Daily fuel consumption with the ship fully loaded is about 38 tons. The ship has two variable pitch propellers and a bow thruster, so it has good maneuverability for docking manoeuvres.On May 25, 2020, the ship was delivered to the Navy after its reconditioning, but it was on the 31st of the same month when it was added to the official list of ships. The crew is made up of seven officers, nine non-commissioned officers and thirty-five sailors. Its first mission began on January 31, 2022, and has consisted of the transfer of various Army material and vehicles to Palma de Mallorca, to then sail to Melilla, Ceuta and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to evaluate the operational performance of this new logistics transport vessel.
