Amphibious ship calls at port

Press, 9 March 1984, Page 5

Amphibious ship calls at port

The Royal Australian Navy’s amphibious heavy lift ship H.M.A.S. Tobruk, which features roll-on stern and bow ramps, made her first call at the Port of Lyttelton yesterday. The ship is visiting New Zealand to take part in the New Zealand Army’s exercise, Northern Safari, at Great Barrier Island. She will be in port for five days, to load vehicle and stores, and transport a contingent of Christchurch-based troops of the Ready Reaction Force to Great Barrier Island.

The ship is the subject of a report by an Australian Federal Parliamentary committee which has been tabled in Parliament.

The Tobruk’s commander, Commander G. A. Morton, had no comment on the joint Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee report which uncovered serious deficiencies and mismanagement in the construction of the Tobruk.

Commander Morton, who has been in charge of the vessel for eight months, said he had been a witness be-

fore the committee. He said he had not seen the findings of the report tabled listing 63 conclusions and 33 recommendations. The hearings began in March, 1982. Commander Morton said he was happy with the vessel’s performance. “The ship is perfectly sound,” he said. It was not known when the ship’s next refit is due.

One of the report’s recommendations seeks increased compensation for the family of a Navy cadet, aged 14, who died after an incident aboard the ship in 1981. Other issues covered included alleged serious design faults involving lack of watertight integrity after damage, and the fact that the ship was almost 300 tons over specification. The 6100-ton Tobruk, built in Australia in 1980, was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy in 1981. The vessel is an update of the British Sir Bedevere class and has been modified to meet Australian requirements. She is the only vessel of her class in the Royal Australian Navy.

Her most unusual feature is two access ramps located at the ship’s stern and bow. The Tobruk’s roll-on hull enables her to carry up to 18 Leopard tanks on her strengthened lower deck, which runs the full length of the ship. The upper deck, as well as serving as a vehiclestorage area, can be used as a flight deck, accommodating three Wessex 318 helicopters. The Tobruk is not carrying tanks or helicopters on this voyage. The vessel usually carries a crew of 139, but has 176 aboard for the New Zealand exercise.

Fifteen members of the crew are Army personnel who are “fully integrated” into the ship’s company, according to Commander Morton.

Since her commission, the Tobruk has been involved in exercises and trials with the Navy’s heavy landing craft and Army Water Transport squadrons along the east coast of Australia. She has also been deployed to the Far East, and Middle-East, transporting an Australian peace-keeping force to

Sinai. More recently, the Tobruk was used in the relief effort after the cyclone which devasted parts of the Tongan Islands in 1982.

Exercise Northern Safari began on Monday. The Tobruk has already transported Australian Army engineers to Great Barrier

Island to carry out bridge building tasks for the New Zealand Forest Service.

Loading of New Zealand equipment will begin today. Local Army groups will visit the ship this morning. The Tobruk will be open to the public tomorrow, between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Several sports fixtures, which include an Australian Rules football match, have been arranged between the ship’s crew and local teams on Sunday. Commander Morton and Mrs Morton, who is in New Zealand on holiday, will attend the Commonwealth Service, at Christchurch Cathedral the same day. The Tobruk is due to leave on Monday for her two-day return voyage to Great Barrier Island. She will be in New Zealand for the remainder of the exercise, which will end on March 26.

For those wishing to offer hospitality to the ship’s crew, a dial-a-sailor or soldier programme will be in use during her stay. The telephone number is Lyttelton 8802.