RFA Black Rover was built by Swan Hunter, being launched in 1973. She was accepted into service in 1974 and is scheduled to be decommissioned by 2010.

In 2000, RFA Black Rover participated in Exercise Unified Spirit 2000 and Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 01-1. The combined exercise, which took place in the waters off the US East Coast and in the Caribbean, began on 9 October and included the USS Harry S. Truman Battle Group, USS Nassau Amphibious Ready Group and 14 NATO ships from Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Only two ships from the UK participated, one being Black Rover and the other the Type 42 destroyer HMS Cardiff.

By February 2001, RFA Black Rover had set sail from Devonport Naval Base at the start of an 11-month deployment as Atlantic Patrol Tanker (South). Along with HMS Glasgow, she set off to visit a number of ports as they sailed south and made their way to the coast of West Africa to support British forces in and around Sierra Leone. Later in 2001, the tanker crossed the Atlantic and headed even further south as she proceeded to the more traditional patrol area of the Falkland Islands. She returned home to the UK in December.

RFA Black Rover was deployed from UK in June 2005 and its tasking included assisting with post-Tsunami reconstruction and participation in multi-national exercises in the Far East as the UK's component of the Five Power Defence Arrangement. On this deployment, she was commanded by Captain K Rimell.

RFA Black Rover now has the role of Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) Tanker, and in September 2006 she hosted the RFA recruitment video film crew. RFA Black Rover’s role as FOST Tanker allowed the filmmakers to capture many of the RFA's abilities. Due to the busy nature of the FOST schedule, the film crew experienced a wide variety of exercises and evolutions during their time on board.