HMAS Westralia (O 195)

HMAS "Westralia" (O 195) was a modified "Leaf" class replenishment oiler which served with the Royal Australian Navy from 1989 to 2006. The ship was originally leased from the United Kingdom, where it had previously served with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as RFA "Appleleaf" and was purchased by the RAN in 1994. The ship was the second and most recent vessel to carry the name HMAS "Westralia".

Design and role

"Westralia" was a replenishment oiler of conventional design. She was a modified civilian tanker, with the main modifications giving it the capability to fuel and transfer stores to ships at sea. After her purchase outright by Australia, a helicopter landing platform was installed to allow helicopter operations to be conducted, although no helicopters were carried by the ship. For her primary role of fuel replenishment, she carried 25,000 tonnes of fuel, and was capable of repleinshing two vessels simultaneously, with one on each side of "Westralia". These operations could be conducted during the night as well as the day.

History

"Westralia" was laid down on 5 November 1973 by Cammell Laird on the River Mersey in England as the commercial tanker "Hudson Cavalier" and launched on 24 July 1975. In 1979, the ship was modified for underway replenishment for service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as RFA "Appleleaf". The ship operated in this capacity under charter, and was later leased to Australia to fulfill the Royal Australian Navy's need for underway replenishment (termed Replenishment At Sea, or RAS, by Australian Navy officials) capability. She served as one of two Australian vessels with this capability into 2006.

"Westralia"'s operations included participating with Australian forces in the 1991 Gulf War as part of the Multi-National Naval Force in the Persian Gulf. The ship served there as a member of Task Force 627.4 in Operation Damask II from 3 December 1990 to 28 May 1991. This deployment included the distinction of being the first time Australian women had been deployed to a combat zone as the "Westralia" counted seven female members in her crew.

On 5 May 1998, a flexible hose in the ship's engine room burst. The resulting fire caused the deaths of four sailors on board. The fire and deaths lead to an inquiry which found the training given to the contractors was insufficient.

Australia purchased the ship outright in 1994, and she served until her decommissioning on 16 September 2006 at Fleet Base West in Western Australia. About half of "Westralia's" crew transferred to her replacement, HMAS "Sirius", the same day.

After being decommissioned, "Westralia" was sold to the AGR Group and Energy Solutions Group, Inc. for conversion to a Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel. In this role she will be named "Shiraz". [http://www.defence.gov.au/media/download/2007/Feb/20070201/index.cfm] ]

ee also

* List of ship launches in 1975
* List of ship commissionings in 1989
* List of ship decommissionings in 2006

References

* [http://www.navy.gov.au/HMAS_Westralia RAN webpage for HMAS Westralia]
* [http://www.defence.gov.au/news/navynews/editions/4916/topstories/story10.htm NAVY News: "Westralia's replacement gets Sirius"]
* [http://www.navy.gov.au/Publication:Westralia_Board_of_Inquiry Westralia Fire - Board of Inquiry]