Of the six ships, two were on charter to the civilian company "Transfennica" operating a RoRo cargo ferry service in the Baltic Sea, connecting Hanko in Finland and Lübeck in Germany. As of January 2009, they are now on charter to the civilian company "Finnlines" in the Baltic. Other ships have also been involved in commercial activity with other companies and other militaries. All ships are available to the UK MOD at very short notice if required. The ships have been employed more than was originally anticipated, having been on MoD duties almost constantly since the build-up to the Iraq invasion in 2003.