After a telephone warning from the IRA,[11] one of the bombs exploded, causing extensive damage inside the engine room, which was holed and subsequently flooded.

An example of this was the Operation Highbrow in Lebanon, where she played a key role in supplying the Royal Navy and giving air support with a flight of Merlin MK1 helicopters from 814 squadron.

[17] From November 2008 until May 2009 she underwent a refit on the Mersey by Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders, being towed up from the Solent by tugs Red Dolphin and Englishman.

[20][21][22] In June 2011 Fort Victoria was deployed off the coast of Yemen with an embarked force of 80 Royal Marines to assist with the possible evacuation of British nationals from that country due to the recent political unrest there.

Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague, had advised British nationals to leave the country immediately saying that it was "extremely unlikely" that the UK government would be able to stage an evacuation operation.

On 11 October 2011 Fort Victoria, along with USS De Wert, was involved in the release of the Italian ship Montecristo after it was hijacked by Somali pirates.

The commanding officer of Fort Victoria, Captain Shaun Jones RFA, said: To manoeuvre such a large ship at speed in close vicinity of a nimble dhow takes extreme concentration and skill; my team were never found wanting.

The 13 Somalis certainly found Friday 13th unlucky for them.On 14 May 2012, during its 2012 deployment, U.S. helicopter squadron HSM-77 Detachment Five completed its temporary operational rotation on board Fort Victoria which was serving as the flagship for Combined Task Force 151.

[27] For her four-month-long 2013 deployment, Fort Victoria relieved Wave Ruler and operated with Task Force 53 in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf.

This included three months in the Aegean Sea in April 2016 on operation Bucktail monitoring activities of people traffickers in the Lesbos region, taking over from RFA Mounts Bay.

[31] Following her return, during 2017–2018, the ship underwent an extensive refit intended to allow her to support the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and meet current tanker anti-pollution hull requirements upon her re-entry into service.

[33] On 11 May 2021 Fort Victoria suffered a small fire whilst alongside in Portland preparing for the Carrier Strike Group 2021 deployment, carrying munitions, fuel and other stores.