Due to various technical problems, the ships HMAS Stalwart (A304) and HMAS Supply (A195), built by Navantia for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), are not in service, leaving the force without auxiliary offshore refueling vessels available and/or operational.
Firstly, it was learned that HMAS Stalwart (A304) due to engine problems extended its stay in Darwin, after having begun its navigation on June 4 from the Western Fleet Base to the port. To date, the causes of the problems registered in its propulsion plant are being investigated. For her part, her sister ship, HMAS Supply (A195), has been stranded at Fleet Base East (HMAS Kuttabul), located in Sydney, due to a problem in its axle coupling, among others. It is expected to be out of service until 2025, when repairs are completed.
The problems were detected as part of a repair carried out in recent months that revealed, in the words of Rear Admiral Steven Tiffen, Chief of Maritime Maintenance of the Royal Australian Navy, additional problems in the shaft line. This eventuality has generated studies to determine if this component can be repaired or, on the contrary, a new one must be requested, requiring a waiting time of around 40 weeks. “The plan, without that axle or replacement being necessary, contemplated three months after the ship returned to the water…“Detailed the naval high command.
The builder of these ships, the Spanish company Navantia, has accepted the failures of the HMAS Supply and has expressed that its repair is covered by the warranty. As for the Supply, Hammond said what failed was the shaft alignment process while the vessel was being built in Spain, even though a certification authority verified the process.
With the two vessels out of service, it is not yet clear how the fact that both units are not operational will affect RAN operations, as the force could reasonably expect to rely on resupplying tankers from the fleets of other allied countries. such as the United States and Japan in the Indo-Pacific, as well as docking in Singapore while operating in the South China Sea. Currently, the force has only the destroyer HMAS Sydney (DDG-42) deployed overseas, although future deployments and sustained operations of more ships could be affected.
The Supply is the first unit that is part of the supply ship program (Auxiliary Oil Replenishment), which arrived in Australia in January 2021 at the Garden Island Naval Base and entered service in the second half of this year. The Stewart, on the other hand, left for Australia in May 2021 to the port of Perth. Both the Supply and Stalwart supply fuel, but are also designed to supply water, spare parts, provisions, and ammunition. The capacity of each vessel is 383,050 gallons of JP5 aviation fuel.
Both ships were built by Navantia based on the design of the BAC “Cantabria” (A 15), belonging to the Spanish Navy. Its displacement is 19,500 tonswith a length of 174 meters, beam of 23 meters and draft of 8 meters, with a range of 6,000 nautical miles.
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