Frances Adamson, Governor of South Australia, presented the Duke of Gloucester Cup for the Ships’ Company of HMAS Rankin on 28 May 2024 at ASC's facilities in Osborne.
The Gloucester Cup is awarded annually to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) unit that has demonstrated the highest level of overall proficiency in the previous year. Rankin is a previous winner, having also been awarded the cup in 2004, 2007 and 2016.
Rankin was alongside at ASC in Osborne ahead of commencing a full-cycle docking (FCD). Each Collins class submarine undergoes a two-year long FCD every ten years at Osborne, while shorter maintenance periods are conducted at Henderson in Western Australia.
According to testimony by ASC officials on 31 May in front of the Senate, HMAS Sheean is currently undergoing an FCD at Osborne, while HMAS Francomb is undergoing an intermediate docking in Western Australia.
Both of these dockings have been extended through to at least the end of this year due to the discovery of separate corrosion issues aboard both submarines, ASC CEO Stuart Whiley told the Senate.
"The delays have been primarily caused by hull preservation issues relating to the weapons discharge and a number of hull forgings which we've not seen before," Whiley said.
Delays to the ongoing dockings means that when Rankin is formally handed over to ASC by the RAN, only three of the Navy's six submarines will be available for at least the rest of 2024.