The ship was ordered in August 1964, from Henry Robb of Leith, and commissioned in December 1967, replacing HMS Lofoten.

[4] In 1968 she was designated as one of the PYTHON locations for the dispersal and continuity of government in the event of nuclear war.

During the 1976 crisis in Lebanon she was deployed as part of contingency planning to evacuate British citizens.

By the mid-1980s Engadine was becoming obsolescent so the container ship MV Contender Bezant was bought for conversion, becoming RFA Argus.

She arrived at Piraeus on 18 February 1990 after being bought by Greek owners for a new service which never materialised and the ship was laid up, name unchanged.