[7] As a sealift ship, Lyme Bay is capable of carrying up to 24 Challenger 2 tanks or 150 light trucks in 1,150 linear metres of space.

[10] Shortly after Largs Bay was handed over to the RFA, Swan Hunter was stripped from the project, with BAE taking full responsibility for the class on 13 June 2006.

BAE completed construction, and Lyme Bay was dedicated on 26 November 2007; the last ship of the class to enter RFA service.

In June 2012, Lyme Bay sailed from Bahrain to return home to undergo a planned refit and regeneration period.

[13] On 16 October 2013 she joined Operation Atalanta, the EU’s counter-piracy force off Somalia; she rejoined the COUGAR group in mid-November.

[15] Between June and December 2015 the ship was on Hurricane watch in the Caribbean and had a Mexeflote and Combat Support Boat (CSB) with their crews from 17 Port & Maritime Regt RLC on board to provide the amphibious capability that had not been seen on APT (North) before.

[16] In September she spent six days off Dominica providing humanitarian and disaster relief following Tropical Storm Erika.

[17] This saw the Mexeflote transferring 10 vehicles ashore and 100 tonnes of water and aid, alongside were the HADR team to help the local population.

[19] After 17 Port and Maritime Regt proving the true capabilities of the Mexeflote and LSD(A) Bay-class ships working in unison in 2015 during APT (North), both the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and 17 Port and Maritime Regt have secured a 3-year deployment with both LSD(A) and Mexeflote paired respectively.

[21] April 2019 saw RFA Lyme Bay take part in Exercise Joint Warrior 19-1, off the coast of northwest Scotland.

[27] It was subsequently indicated by the Government that she was to remain, for a time, in the Eastern Mediterranean with Argus as part of a broader British regional presence given the outbreak of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.

[32][33] In July 2024, both Lyme Bay and Argus deployed to Australia for exercise "Predators Run" which included troops from 40 Commando Royal Marines, and also involved US and Australian forces.