Philip Smart | Adelaide
Landing ship HMAS Tobruk has sailed in to her home port of Sydney’s Garden Island for the last time as a commissioned Royal Australian Navy (RAN) warship.
The heavy lift ship is scheduled to decommission on Friday 31 July, after 34 years of service. The first purpose-built amphibious vessel of the RAN, HMAS Tobruk was built by Carrington Slipways at Tomago, near Newcastle, NSW, and launched on 1 March 1980.
During her service life, the ship has supported a number of humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions in East Timor and the Philippines and most recently in Operation Pacific Assist 2015 following Tropical Cyclone Pam which devastated Vanuatu earlier this year.
Commanding Officer Tobruk, Commander Leif Maxfield, said the final passage was an emotional time for the ship’s company of 167.
“Today signifies that the end of the ship’s seagoing life is near,” CMDR Maxfield said.
“The people who have served on Tobruk over the years have performed admirably, responding to the call of duty, whenever tasked by Government to do so. Both current and former ship’s crews have absolutely lived up to the motto of the ship, “Faithful and Strong”.
“While we will farewell Tobruk, it is also an exciting time to be in the Navy. We now look to the future with a bold new capability, having had our first of the two Landing Helicopter Dock ships, HMAS Canberra, entering into service in December 2014,” CMDR Maxfield said.
NUSHIP Adelaide, the second LHD is scheduled for commissioning later this year.