HMAS Stalwart (A304) has extended its stay in Darwin due to engine defects that emerged during its voyage from Fleet Base West to the port. AIS tracking data shows that Stalwart arrived in Darwin on 4 June and hasn’t left since.
“The extent and cause of the required repairs are under investigation,” the spokesperson added.
ADM understands that, because of the defects, Stalwart is not considered fully operational by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), meaning that the Navy has no available Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment (AOR) vessels.
Stalwart’s sister ship, HMAS Supply, (A195) has been alongside at Fleet Base East for more than a year due to a “complex defect” relating to its shaft coupling.
“The repairs that were undertaken over the last 12 months have revealed another issue with an element in the shaft line,” Rear Admiral Steven Tiffen, Head Maritime Sustainment, told a Senate Estimates hearing earlier this month.
“The worst case for a long lead item at the moment is around 40 weeks to come out of Europe,” he added.
Even once the part is delivered, RADM Tiffen added, it will still take around three months before Supply is once again available to Navy.
“The plan, without that shaft or replacement being needed, we were looking for three months after the ship goes back in the water, after the replacement, that it would be handed back to the customer.”
Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, Chief of Navy said that while he was dissatisfied with the availability of the platform, he was satisfied with the work being done to remediate it.
“I am not satisfied with the availability of this ship, but I am satisfied with the effort going into remediating it, and the best we can do at the moment is to work on the repair,” he said.
While Navantia has accepted the faults aboard Supply as latent defects, the remediation of which is being covered by warranty, Defence did not answer ADM’s questions about whether a similar determination had been made above engine defects on Stalwart.
The two Supply class vessels, built in Spain by Navantia, were commissioned in 2021 following the designs selection for Project Sea 1654 Phase 3 ahead of the DSME’s — now Hanwha Ocean — Tide class.