Royal Australian Navy Discussions and Updates 2.0

[Joe Black]

Pacific Support Vessel apparently has already been bought for $88.4 million

Defence confirms Pacific Support Vessel has been purchased - APDR

Even though the government has failed to make a formal announcement, it has been known for some time that the proposed large Pacific Support Vessel will no longer be built in Australia but will be purchased overseas.

asiapacificdefencereporter.com

Does anyone know what this vessel is?

 

[Mark_Evans]

Pacific Support Vessel apparently has already been bought for $88.4 million

Defence confirms Pacific Support Vessel has been purchased - APDR

Even though the government has failed to make a formal announcement, it has been known for some time that the proposed large Pacific Support Vessel will no longer be built in Australia but will be purchased overseas.

asiapacificdefencereporter.com

Does anyone know what this vessel is?

Offshore Support Vessel. Sailing under our flag.

Ship ADV RELIANT (Offshore Supply Ship) Registered in Australia - Vessel details, Current position and Voyage information - IMO 9752254, MMSI 503000206, Call sign VMNC

Vessel ADV RELIANT is a Offshore Supply Ship, Registered in Australia. Discover the vessel's particulars, including capacity, machinery, photos and ownership. Get the details of the current Voyage of ADV RELIANT including Position, Port Calls, Destination, ETA and Distance travelled - IMO...

www.fleetmon.com

 

[Going Boeing]

Wrt the Navantia proposal, am I understanding it correctly in that the planned upgrade of the 3 AWD’s will be cancelled & they will continue to operate with the current Baseline 7 AEGIS system while the replacement Baseline 9 AEGIS systems that have been ordered would be fitted to 3 new build AWD’s?

If so, the 3 older AWD’s would not have BMD capability but would still be very capable, including TLAM when they arrive.

Based on what has been said on this forum previously, the planned AWD upgrade would be 70% of the cost of building new vessels. This would mean that the proposed new AWD’s would be acquired relatively cheaply (not including the operating and crewing costs) as well as not tying up the current vessels in a lengthy maintenance/upgrade cycle.

It’s certainly a proposal that is worth serious consideration by the Federal politicians & senior Defence officers.

 

[ngatimozart]

Wrt the Navantia proposal, am I understanding it correctly in that the planned upgrade of the 3 AWD’s will be cancelled & they will continue to operate with the current Baseline 7 AEGIS system while the replacement Baseline 9 AEGIS systems that have been ordered would be fitted to 3 new build AWD’s?

If so, the 3 older AWD’s would not have BMD capability but would still be very capable, including TLAM when they arrive.

Based on what has been said on this forum previously, the planned AWD upgrade would be 70% of the cost of building new vessels. This would mean that the proposed new AWD’s would be acquired relatively cheaply (not including the operating and crewing costs) as well as not tying up the current vessels in a lengthy maintenance/upgrade cycle.

It’s certainly a proposal that is worth serious consideration by the Federal politicians & senior Defence officers.

Do really you want to be the first to test the Moderator's lack of patience? Did you read the red ink notice that i posted yesterday? I don't like repeating myself. As I get older I get grumpier. Don't do it again.

 

[OldNavy63]

Offshore Support Vessel. Sailing under our flag.

Ship ADV RELIANT (Offshore Supply Ship) Registered in Australia - Vessel details, Current position and Voyage information - IMO 9752254, MMSI 503000206, Call sign VMNC

Vessel ADV RELIANT is a Offshore Supply Ship, Registered in Australia. Discover the vessel's particulars, including capacity, machinery, photos and ownership. Get the details of the current Voyage of ADV RELIANT including Position, Port Calls, Destination, ETA and Distance travelled - IMO...

www.fleetmon.com

In the following Sydney Morning Herald article from 09 Nov 2018, former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne described the proposed ship as a large-hulled HADR vessel.

Focussing innocently on the word "large", at that time I must confess to having had higher expectations for the proposed vessel. I suppose "large" is a relative term. Mr Pyne may have been standing in a dinghy when he made the announcement. We could not sustain a third LHD swanning around the Pacific looking for disasters to respond to, but I was expecting a hangar for a couple of helos, a few LCVPs, a vehicle deck, some hospital facilities and a desalination plant.

Since 2018, many on this forum have put forward their hopes for the vessel or otherwise. I am somewhat underwhelmed with the choice of vessel. It is only five years old, but not new. It is probably going to be an ADV, not Naval. It was built in Europe, not Australia. Similar in size to ABFC Ocean Shield and ADV Protector, it is not as large as I had expected, but by golly, at $88M it has got to be cheap, what?

Christopher Pyne promises new ship in 'pivot' to the south Pacific

The Morrison government is pledging to build a large, new naval ship that will cruise the south Pacific and help Australia’s neighbours deal with natural disasters as part of what is being seen as Australia’s “pivot” to the neighbouring region.

www.smh.com.au

 

[alexsa]

Wrt the Navantia proposal, am I understanding it correctly in that the planned upgrade of the 3 AWD’s will be cancelled & they will continue to operate with the current Baseline 7 AEGIS system while the replacement Baseline 9 AEGIS systems that have been ordered would be fitted to 3 new build AWD’s?

If so, the 3 older AWD’s would not have BMD capability but would still be very capable, including TLAM when they arrive.

Based on what has been said on this forum previously, the planned AWD upgrade would be 70% of the cost of building new vessels. This would mean that the proposed new AWD’s would be acquired relatively cheaply (not including the operating and crewing costs) as well as not tying up the current vessels in a lengthy maintenance/upgrade cycle.

It’s certainly a proposal that is worth serious consideration by the Federal politicians & senior Defence officers.

The Navantia open offer is a smart piece of politicking. The DDG are out or production and the logistics support is for gear that is no longer current (a fact of life with product development). So these would be a new class … smaller than Hunter (which has grown to accept the ‘required capability’) and has bugger all growth margin now.

Added to which …. what systems will be fitted? The combat system and sensor system for the Hunter has been ordered. There are no orders for the Navantia option so these would either be a new order of gear (which means the claim the new DDG will beat the Hunter is nonsense) or a transfer of gear ordered for the Hunter to the Navantia option (essentially delaying the Hunter).

It is a smart piece of marketing but a poor option.

 

[alexsa]

Offshore Support Vessel. Sailing under our flag.

Ship ADV RELIANT (Offshore Supply Ship) Registered in Australia - Vessel details, Current position and Voyage information - IMO 9752254, MMSI 503000206, Call sign VMNC

Vessel ADV RELIANT is a Offshore Supply Ship, Registered in Australia. Discover the vessel's particulars, including capacity, machinery, photos and ownership. Get the details of the current Voyage of ADV RELIANT including Position, Port Calls, Destination, ETA and Distance travelled - IMO...

www.fleetmon.com

Ok ... it may be the case but it is an OSV.... which may actually be for used for its designed purpose in Australian waters.

According to EQUASIS the vessel has been operated by Horizon Offshore since 2017 ... when the ship was built. The current databases entries indicate the keel was laid in 2014 (well before the Pacific ship was a thing) and the vessel is being operated under its Canadian operator ever since.

It may actually be an OSV that is being redeployed to Australia to support offshore operations. Suggest we wait for more information. The vessel is on the Australian register as an offshore vessel. This is searchable

Post script ... yep this appears to be it. Not sure it is the best option but lets see what the thing is supposed to do and how it will be modified.

 

[hauritz]

I guess this is the new Pacific Support Ship. Formally known as the Horizon Star.

‘A Swiss Army Knife’ of a Ship |

horizonmaritime.com

Smaller than I would have thought. Not much room for a VLS and I think AEGIS might be completely out of the question.

 

[oldsig127]

I guess this is the new Pacific Support Ship. Formally known as the Horizon Star.

‘A Swiss Army Knife’ of a Ship |

horizonmaritime.com

Smaller than I would have thought. Not much room for a VLS and I think AEGIS might be completely out of the question.

What? No 100 bed teaching hospital, school, TAFE and complete civil engineering design and construction department? Colour me surprised.

oldsig

 

[Hoffy]

More available online, worth a read, from The Whitehouse Briefing Room:

FACT SHEET: Implementation of the Australia – United Kingdom – United States Partnership (AUKUS) | The White House


'Nuclear stewardship. For several weeks in February, combined teams from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States visited multiple sites in Australia to baseline its nuclear stewardship, infrastructure, workforce, and industrial capabilities and requirements. On February 28, findings were considered by the Joint Steering Group on submarines. The Joint Steering Group will use this information as it develops the optimal pathway for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines".

Seems to be moving along quickly...

 

[DDG38]

Hmmmm, I feel like this choice for the Pacific Support Ship is an indication of lack of imagination and a rush to be seen to be doing something. Here she is in Canadian service (source : Flickr)

"The vessel comes with its own helicopter pad and a 'moon pool' used for deploying remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), equipment and parts from beneath the vessel during turbulent ocean conditions. It is equipped with a crane that can reach depths of three kilometres, a pair of high-speed rescue vessels, iceberg and emergency towing wing, firefighting equipment and accommodations for 60, although it will only carry a crew of 16".

While I don't doubt the ship has some utility, I'm sure there were other options that could have been a better fit for the mission requirement.

 

[ngatimozart]

Hmmmm, I feel like this choice for the Pacific Support Ship is an indication of lack of imagination and a rush to be seen to be doing something. Here she is in Canadian service (source : Flickr)
View attachment 49082
"The vessel comes with its own helicopter pad and a 'moon pool' used for deploying remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), equipment and parts from beneath the vessel during turbulent ocean conditions. It is equipped with a crane that can reach depths of three kilometres, a pair of high-speed rescue vessels, iceberg and emergency towing wing, firefighting equipment and accommodations for 60, although it will only carry a crew of 16".

While I don't doubt the ship has some utility, I'm sure there were other options that could have been a better fit for the mission requirement.

Much the same as HMNZS Manawanui then.

 

[Stampede]

Ok ... it may be the case but it is an OSV.... which may actually be for used for its designed purpose in Australian waters.

According to EQUASIS the vessel has been operated by Horizon Offshore since 2017 ... when the ship was built. The current databases entries indicate the keel was laid in 2014 (well before the Pacific ship was a thing) and the vessel is being operated under its Canadian operator ever since.

It may actually be an OSV that is being redeployed to Australia to support offshore operations. Suggest we wait for more information. The vessel is on the Australian register as an offshore vessel. This is searchable

Post script ... yep this appears to be it. Not sure it is the best option but lets see what the thing is supposed to do and how it will be modified.

It may be a timely good stop gap till we either build something else or figure out how we do both defence and HADR.


Regards S

 

[OldTex]

Very similar to ADV Ocean Protector and the former ADV Ocean Shield (now ABFC Ocean Shield).

 

[Redlands18]

Hmmmm, I feel like this choice for the Pacific Support Ship is an indication of lack of imagination and a rush to be seen to be doing something. Here she is in Canadian service (source : Flickr)
View attachment 49082
"The vessel comes with its own helicopter pad and a 'moon pool' used for deploying remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), equipment and parts from beneath the vessel during turbulent ocean conditions. It is equipped with a crane that can reach depths of three kilometres, a pair of high-speed rescue vessels, iceberg and emergency towing wing, firefighting equipment and accommodations for 60, although it will only carry a crew of 16".

While I don't doubt the ship has some utility, I'm sure there were other options that could have been a better fit for the mission requirement.

That Iceberg Towing capability sounds like it would be real handy off Fiji in Summer
I suspect a major Refit would be on the Cards.

 

[Flexson]

Considering even the Evolved Capes are being prefixed ADV I would be Reliant on it being ADV. No doubt the announcement is on the immediate Horizon and will be the Star of a speech about keeping pre-election promises.

ADV Reliant; Former Horizon Star...... wow what a coincidental choice of words

 

[OldTex]

Between ADV Reliant and ADV Ocean Protector there is the possibility of providing both the Pacific Support Ship role and a Recovery and Repair role which is somewhat lacking at this point in time.

 

[StingrayOZ]

"The vessel comes with its own helicopter pad and a 'moon pool' used for deploying remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), equipment and parts from beneath the vessel during turbulent ocean conditions. It is equipped with a crane that can reach depths of three kilometres, a pair of high-speed rescue vessels, iceberg and emergency towing wing, firefighting equipment and accommodations for 60, although it will only carry a crew of 16".

Ice capability and iceberg towing will come in handy in the tropical waters of the Pacific. We can solve the global warming problem futurama/dicksmith style. Towing icebergs into the pacific.

I guess we all wanted a manifest version of the Australian government pacific policy. Here it is, in all its clearly articulated glory...

I can see Frank Bainimarama sprinting up the nearest hill to text the foreign minister when this shows up at the next disaster. This is also clearly the capability countries like PNG and Solomon's seek and have been calling for.

There is actually a tour of the ship available, it shows the multirole capability of the ship:

 

[John Fedup]

Damn, junior’s dreamship for the RCN, maybe one for Quebec and another for the Pacific.

 

[Bob53]

I guess this is the new Pacific Support Ship. Formally known as the Horizon Star.

‘A Swiss Army Knife’ of a Ship |

horizonmaritime.com

Smaller than I would have thought. Not much room for a VLS and I think AEGIS might be completely out of the question.

How can this ship be used for humanitarian support and disaster relief? From the description from 2018 I was thinking part smaller hospital ship, medical support, ability to land support vehicles, water purification and food supply. When not on disaster relief it would sail around the pacific delivering hood will. I don’t see how this ship will fill those roles?