HMAS Stalwart , seen here as it arrives in Australia in June 2021. The vessel was eventually commissioned on 13 November 2021. (Commonwealth of Australia)
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has commissioned its second and final Supply-class auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR) vessel.
The ship, HMAS Stalwart (A304), was inducted at its home port of HMAS Stirling in Perth, Western Australia, on 13 November.
Stalwart is the second of two 19,500-tonne AOR vessels ordered under an AUD642 million (USD470 million) contract signed between the Australian government and Navantia in May 2016. First-of-class HMAS Supply arrived in Perth for final fit-out in October 2020 and was commissioned in April 2021.
The two new AORs replace two older RAN oilers – the former HMAS Success , which was retired in June 2019, and HMAS Sirius , which will be decommissioned in December 2021.
The Supply class has an overall length of approximately 174 m, an overall beam of 23 m, and a draught of 8 m. Powered by two Navantia-MAN 18V32/40 diesel engines in a combined diesel-and-diesel configuration, the vessel has a top speed of 20 kt with a range of 11,000 km at 13 kt.
Each double-hulled AOR can embark one helicopter on the flight deck and can carry 1,450 m³ of JP5 jet fuel, 8,200 m³ of marine diesel fuel, 1,400 m³ of fresh water, 270 tonnes of ammunition, and 470 tonnes of victuals.
Besides conducting replenishment operations, the vessels are also equipped for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and pollution-control missions.
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