HMAS ''Adelaide'' (FFG 01) was the
lead ship
The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels.
Large ships are very complex and may ...
of the of
guided missile frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
s built for the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
(RAN), based on the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
's s. She was built in the United States and
commissioned into the RAN in 1980.
During her career, ''Adelaide'' was part of Australian responses or contributions to the
1987 Fijian coups d'état
The Fijian coups d'état of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic. The first coup d'état, in wh ...
, the
Iraq invasion of Kuwait
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...
, the
Indonesian riots of May 1998
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesia ...
, the
INTERFET
The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacemaking task force, organised and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis that took ...
peacekeeping taskforce, the
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
*Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
, and the
United States-led invasion of Iraq. In 1997, the frigate rescued two competitors in the
1996–97 Vendée Globe solo, round-the-world yacht race. In 2001, a boat carrying suspected illegal immigrants was intercepted by ''Adelaide''; the events of this interception became the centre of the
Children overboard affair.
In 2008, ''Adelaide'' was the second ship of the class to be
decommissioned, in order to offset the cost of an upgrade to the other four vessels. This ship was to be sunk off
Avoca Beach, New South Wales
Avoca Beach is a coastal suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney. Avoca Beach is primarily a residential suburb, Avoca Beach is also a popular tourist destination. Avoca Beach is known for its su ...
as a
dive wreck
Wreck diving is recreational diving where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificia ...
on 27 March 2010, until an appeal to the
Administrative Appeals Tribunal
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is an Australian tribunal that conducts independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT review decisions made by Australian Gover ...
by protest groups led to a postponement of the scuttling until additional cleanup work was completed. Despite further attempts to delay or cancel the
scuttling
Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self destruct, self-destruction to prevent the s ...
, ''Adelaide'' was sunk off Avoca on 13 April 2011.
Design and construction
Following the cancellation of the
Australian light destroyer project
The Australian light destroyer project aimed to build a class of small destroyers for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The project began in 1966 with the goal of developing simple light destroyers (DDL) to support patrol boat operations. The proj ...
in 1973, the British
Type 42 destroyer
The Type 42 or ''Sheffield'' class, was a class of fourteen guided-missile destroyers that served in the Royal Navy.Marriott, Leo: ''Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945'', , Ian Allan Ltd, 1989 A further two ships of this class were built for and s ...
and the American were identified as alternatives to replace the cancelled light destroyers and the s.
[Jones, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 220] Although the ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' class was still at the design stage, the difficulty of fitting the Type 42 with the
SM-1 missile, and the success of the acquisition (a derivative of the American ) compared to equivalent British designs led the Australian government to approve the purchase of two US-built ''Oliver Hazard Perry''-class frigates (including ''Adelaide'') in 1976.
[Frame, ''Pacific Partners'', pp. 102, 162] A third was ordered in 1977, followed by a fourth, with all four ships integrated into the USN's shipbuilding program.[Frame, ''Pacific Partners'', p. 162][MacDougall, ''Australians at war'', p. 345][Hooton, ''Perking-up the Perry class''] A further two ships were ordered in 1980, and were constructed in Australia.[
As designed, the ship had a ]full load displacement
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
of 3,605 tons, a length overall
__NOTOC__
Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...
of , a beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of , and a draught of .[Moore (ed.), ''Jane's Fighting Ships 1977–78 '', p. 25][ Early in the ship's career, she was modified from the ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' Flight I design to Flight III, requiring a lengthening of the helicopter deck for the RAST helicopter recovery system, increasing the displacement to 4,100 tons and pushing the overall length to .][ Propulsion machinery consisted of two ]General Electric LM2500
The General Electric LM2500 is an industrial and marine gas turbine produced by GE Aviation. The LM2500 is a derivative of the General Electric CF6 aircraft engine.
As of 2004, the U.S. Navy and at least 29 other navies had used a total of mor ...
gas turbines, which provided a combined to the single propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
shaft.[Sharpe (ed.), ''Jane's Fighting Ships 1998–99'', p. 26] Top speed was , with a range of at .[ Two electric auxiliary propulsors were used for close manoeuvring, with a top speed of .][ The standard ship's company was 184, including 15 officers, but excluding the flight crew for the embarked helicopters.][
]
The original armament for the ship consisted of a Mark 13 missile launcher
The Mark 13 guided missile launching system (GMLS) is a single-arm missile launcher designed for use on frigates and other military vessels. Because of its distinctive single-armed design, the Mark 13 is often referred to as the "one-armed bandit" ...
configured to fire RIM-66 Standard
The RIM-66 Standard MR (SM-1MR/SM-2MR) is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM), with a secondary role as an anti-ship missile, originally developed for the United States Navy (USN). A member of the Standard Missile family of weapons, the ...
and RGM-84 Harpoon
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile
manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Mi ...
missiles, supplemented by an OTO Melara gun and a Vulcan Phalanx
The Phalanx CIWS (often spoken as "sea-wiz") is a gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the Gene ...
point-defence system.[ For anti-submarine warfare, two Mark 32 torpedo tube sets were fitted; originally firing the ]Mark 44 torpedo
The Mark 44 torpedo is a now-obsolete air-launched and ship-launched lightweight torpedo manufactured in the United States, and under licence in Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, with 10,500 being produced for U.S. service. It ...
, the ''Adelaide''s later carried the Mark 46 torpedoes.[ Up to six machine guns were carried for close-in defence, and beginning in 2005, two ]M2HB
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, wh ...
.50 calibre machine guns in Mini Typhoon
The Typhoon is a type of remote weapon station manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel, and it shares similar design principles and common technologies with Samson Remote Controlled Weapon Station (Samson RCWS), a land-based sys ...
mounts were installed when needed for Persian Gulf deployments.[Scott, ''Enhanced small-calibre systems offer shipborne stopping power''] The sensor suite included an AN/SPS-49
The AN/SPS-49 is a United States Navy two-dimensional, long range air search radar built by Raytheon that can provide contact bearing and range. It is a primary air-search radar for numerous ships in the U.S. fleet and in Spain, Poland, Taiwan abo ...
air search radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
, AN/SPS-55 surface search and navigation radar, SPG-60 fire control radar connected to a Mark 92 fire control system
The Mark 92 Fire Control System is a US-built medium-range anti-aircraft missile and gun fire control system. It was developed for the FFG-7 Oliver Hazard Perry class guided missile frigates. The system is a licensed USN version of the Thales Ned ...
, and an AN/SQS-56 hull-mounted sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
.[ Two helicopters could be embarked: either two ]S-70B Seahawk
The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificatio ...
or one Seahawk and one AS350B Squirrel.[
''Adelaide'' was ]laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
to the ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' class' Flight I design at Todd Pacific Shipyards
Vigor Shipyards is the current entity operating the former Todd Shipyards after its acquisition in 2011. Todd Shipyards was founded in 1916, which owned and operated shipyards on the West Coast of the United States, East Coast of the United St ...
at Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
on 29 July 1977, launched on 21 June 1978 by Lady Ann Synnot (wife of Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot
Admiral Sir Anthony Monckton Synnot, (5 January 1922 – 4 July 2001) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy, who served as Chief of the Defence Force Staff from 1979 to 1982.
Early life
Synnot was born in 1922 at Corowa, New South ...
), and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
on 15 November 1980.[Perryman, ''Ships Named Adelaide'', p. 2] During construction, she was identified with the United States Navy hull number
Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. For the military, a lower number implies an older vessel. For civilian use, the HIN is used to trace the boat's history. The precise usage varies by country and type.
United S ...
FFG-17.[ A total of four ''Adelaide''-class ships were constructed by Todd Pacific, with a further two built by Australian shipbuilder AMECON.][
]
Operational history
After commissioning, ''Adelaide'' and ''Canberra'' remained in the United States to work up; during this time both ships were attached to the United States Navy's Destroyer Squadron 9
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
. The frigate ran aground off Seattle in early 1981, during post-commissioning trials, but was freed with only minor damage.[
Following the decommissioning of the ]aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
in 1982 and the disbandment of fixed-wing aviation squadrons in 1984, the RAN Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
became focused on helicopter operations, but had minimal experience flying helicopters from small ships.[Jones, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 247] To remedy this, a Bell Kiowa was embarked aboard ''Adelaide'' during 1984.[ ''Adelaide'' was awarded the ]Gloucester Cup
The Gloucester Cup is the common name for three awards of the Australian Defence Force officially called the Duke of Gloucester's Cup, the three awards are presented to the most proficient ship of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), infantry battali ...
for being the most efficient ship in the RAN during 1984.[
In May 1987, ''Adelaide'' visited ]Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, and was alongside in Lautoka
Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...
when the first of the 1987 Fijian coups d'état
The Fijian coups d'état of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic. The first coup d'état, in wh ...
occurred on 14 May.[Jones, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 260] ''Adelaide'' and sister ship , alongside in Suva, were instructed to remain off Fiji to aid in any necessary evacuation of Australian citizens; the first component of what became Operation Morris Dance
Operation Morris Dance was an Australian military operation conducted in May 1987 in response to the first of the 1987 Fijian coups d'état.
On the morning of 14 May 1987 the Military of Fiji took control of the country in a bloodless coup d' ...
.[ ''Adelaide'' remained on station until at least 29 May, when a phased withdrawal began.][
On 3 July 1990, ''Adelaide'' became the first Australian warship to visit ]Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
since 1970.[Bendle et al., ''Database of Royal Australian Navy Operations, 1990–2005'', p. 6] On 10 August, ''Adelaide'', sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
, and the replenishment ship were deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Damask
Australia was a member of the international coalition which contributed military forces to the 1991 Gulf War, also known as Operation Desert Storm. More than 1,800 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were deployed to the Persian Gulf from Au ...
, Australia's participation in the international coalition enforcing sanctions against Iraq
The sanctions against Iraq were a comprehensive financial and trade embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Iraq. They began August 6, 1990, four days after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, stayed largely in force until May 22, ...
following that nation's invasion of Kuwait
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...
.[Jones, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 261] ''Adelaide'' and ''Darwin'' remained in the area until 3 December, and was used for surveillance and boarding operations.[Jones, in Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 263] In October 1992, ''Adelaide'' home port was changed to , making her the first ship of the class homeported in Western Australia under the Two-Ocean Policy.[Perryman, ''Ships Named Adelaide'', p. 3]
In January 1997, the yacht
A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
s of Thierry Dubois and Tony Bullimore
Tony Bullimore (15 January 1939 – 31 July 2018) was a British businessman and international yachtsman. He is known especially for being rescued on 10 January 1997 during a sailing race after he had been presumed dead.
Early life and career
...
(competitors in the 1996–97 Vendée Globe solo, round-the-world yacht race), capsized while attempting to cross the Southern Ocean.[Grazebrook, ''A Drop in the Ocean?''] ''Adelaide'' successfully found and rescued the sailors after seven days of searching by ships and aircraft.[ During late May and early June, the frigate was deployed to the ]Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, and represented Australia at the Philippines Centenary International Naval Review.
Between 17 and 27 May 1998, ''Adelaide'' was one of four RAN ships placed on standby, in case Australian citizens required evacuation if the Indonesian riots of May 1998
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesia ...
escalated. The ships were not used. Starting in September, the frigate accompanied the destroyers and on a cruise through South East Asia.[Bendle et al., ''Database of Royal Australian Navy Operations, 1990–2005'', p. 35] During this deployment, the ships were present at a naval review
A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...
by Indonesian president B. J. Habibie
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (; 25 June 1936 – 11 September 2019) was an Indonesian engineer and politician who was the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. Less than three months after his inauguration as the seventh vice preside ...
.[
In February 1999, ''Adelaide'' was awarded the Duke of Gloucester Cup awarded to the most efficient ship in the RAN during the previous year. The frigate was deployed to ]East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
as part of the Australian-led INTERFET
The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacemaking task force, organised and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis that took ...
peacekeeping taskforce from 19 September to 19 October.
On 6 October 2001, ''Adelaide'' was the ship which intercepted SIEV 4, the event which sparked the Children overboard affair.[Senate Select Committee, ''A Certain Maritime Incident''] Under orders to prevent SIEVs from entering Australian waters, ''Adelaide'' attempted to warn the craft, carrying over 200 passengers (including children), against crossing from international waters during the night and into 7 October. When the SIEV failed to heed these warnings, ''Adelaide'' fired warning shots and initiated a RHIB
A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are i ...
boarding action, with the boarding party took control of the craft that afternoon.[ Between this time and when the craft was manoeuvred from Australian territory late the next morning, several attempts were made to sabotage the craft, and some adult passengers jumped or were thrown overboard while others threatened to do so; the fourteen people that entered the water were recovered by the frigate's RHIB and taken back to the SIEV.][ ''Adelaide'' observed the craft as it headed towards Indonesia, and moved in to provide further assistance a few hours later, after systematic sabotage immobilised the small vessel.][ ''Adelaide'' was instructed to take the vessel in tow and head for ]Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...
.[ The SIEV began to take on water during the afternoon of 8 October, and despite the appearance that the problem had been rectified, the craft sank without warning at 17:00.][ All aboard were forced into the water, and were rescued by personnel from ''Adelaide''.][ Reports of the sinking were conflated with information about those who jumped or were thrown overboard the day previous to give the impression that the threat of throwing children overboard had been made or carried out, a story that was later proven false but taken up at the time by the Howard government during the lead-up to the 2001 election to support their campaign promises to tighten border controls and immigration.][
From November 2001 to March 2002, ''Adelaide'' and the amphibious warfare ship were deployed to the Middle East as part of ]Operation Slipper
The Australian contribution to the war in Afghanistan has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015-2021).
Australian Defence Force (ADF) operations and the size of the forces deployed have varied and ADF invo ...
, the Australian contribution to the War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
*Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
.[Bendle et al., ''Database of Royal Australian Navy Operations, 1990–2005'', p. 44] The ships also contributed to the continuing enforcement of the Iraq sanctions.[ ''Adelaide'' was deployed on border protection operations on multiple occasions until 2004.][
''Adelaide'' returned to the Middle East from July 2004 to January 2005 as part of ]Operation Catalyst
Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...
, the Australian contribution to the reconstruction of Iraq following the United States-led invasion in 2003.[Bendle et al., ''Database of Royal Australian Navy Operations, 1990–2005'', p. 60] During this deployment, in December 2004, several gunboats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
attempted to capture a boarding party after it had inspected the freighter MV ''Sham'', which had grounded near the Iraq-Iran maritime boundary.[Gardner, ''Iran 'unable to take Australians][Australian Associated Press, ''Australians repelled Iranian navy''] After completing their inspection, the boarding party returned to their two RHIBs, but were approached by an Iranian gunboat.[ The boarding party climbed back aboard ''Sham'', took up defensive positions, and, according to BBC reporter Frank Gardner, "warned ]he Iranians
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
to back off, using what was said to be 'highly colourful language'."[ During the next 45 minutes, four more gunboats arrived, and the stand-off lasted for four hours before the Australians were evacuated by ''Adelaide''s Seahawk helicopter.][ No shots were fired during the incident, and two of the Australians were later awarded the ]Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation.
Examples include:
*Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action
* Distinguishe ...
for their conduct during the stand-off.[ The ]Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...
did not immediately report the incident to the media, as they felt no need to highlight it, and the attempted capture did not come to light until July 2007, when Gardner wrote about it following the capture of 15 British personnel during a similar incident in March 2007.[
A March 2010 reorganisation of ]battle honours
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible.
In European military t ...
awarded to RAN ships saw ''Adelaide'' retroactively honoured for her service with INTERFET ("East Timor 1999") and during the War in Afghanistan ("Persian Gulf 2001–02").[Royal Australian Navy, ''Navy Marks 109th Birthday With Historic Changes To Battle Honours''][Royal Australian Navy, ''Royal Australian Navy Ship/Unit Battle Honours'']
Decommissioning and fate
''Adelaide'' was originally scheduled to be paid off in November 2006, but delays with the project to upgrade four of ''Adelaide''s sister ships required that she be kept in service for another fourteen months to minimise the impact on the fleet.[Fish, ''Australia's Adelaide ends 27 years of service''] ''Adelaide'' was decommissioned on 19 January 2008 at , before she was towed to Sydney and given to the New South Wales Government
The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
, which planned to sink her as a dive wreck
Wreck diving is recreational diving where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificia ...
off the coast near Terrigal
Terrigal is a coastal town in the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located east of Gosford on the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the local government area.
History
Terrigal was first settled in 1826 by European Settler John Gray, ...
: the first military ship dive wreck in New South Wales.[Nelson, ''Warship to be sunk off New South Wales coast'' ress release/ref> After spending time alongside at , ''Adelaide'' was towed to White Bay at a point prior to November 2009.][Collins, ''HMAS Adelaide was stripped of her mast at White Bay last Thursday'']
The ship was prepared for scuttling during late 2009 and early 2010: her mast (which would have become a navigational hazard once the ship was scuttled) was removed, dangerous materials and toxins were removed, and access holes were cut in the ship's flanks.[West, ''Scuttled ship would wreck bay: residents''] The ship was scheduled to be sunk on 27 March, offshore from Avoca Beach, New South Wales
Avoca Beach is a coastal suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney. Avoca Beach is primarily a residential suburb, Avoca Beach is also a popular tourist destination. Avoca Beach is known for its su ...
, in of water.[ Local ]resident action group
NIMBY (or nimby), an acronym for the phrase "not in my back yard", is a characterization of opposition by residents to proposed developments in their local area, as well as support for strict land use regulations. It carries the connotation that ...
s campaigned to prevent the scuttling, claiming that the wreck would affect tides and littoral sand drift, and that the removal of chemicals and hazardous materials in the ship had not been thorough enough, with the chance that marine life and people could be poisoned.[Trembath, ''HMAS Adelaide to sleep with the fishes'']
An appeal by the protest groups to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is an Australian tribunal that conducts independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT review decisions made by Australian Gover ...
three days before the sinking saw the project placed on hold until the case could be heard in full: supporters and opponents of the dive wreck agreed to participate in mediation
Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...
in the meantime.[ABC News, ''Plans to sink warship scuttled by court order''][Tovey & Harvey, ''Tribunal scuppers plan to sink ship''] The case was to be heard on 5 May, but was later postponed to July.[West, ''Judge fires broadside at rush to sink warship''][West, ''New tests ordered for warship toxins''] On 15 September, the Tribunal ruled that scuttling of the ship could go ahead after the removal of any remaining wiring, which may contain polychlorinated biphenyl
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by t ...
s, canvas, insulation, and exfoliating red lead paint.[Harvey & West, ''Judge orders tough new rules for scuttling''] The delays caused by the tribunal hearing meant that the original $5.8 million assigned to the scuttling project was expended, and the tribunal hearing, additional cleanup, and berthing fees brought the cost of the scuttling project to $8.5 million.[
]
A new scuttling date was announced on 24 February 2011 by NSW Lands Minister Tony Kelly, with ''Adelaide'' scheduled to be sunk on 13 April 2011, after the additional cleaning ordered by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was completed in March.[Australian Associated Press, ''Greenies try to scuttle plans to sink HMAS Adelaide''] ''Adelaide'' was towed from Sydney Harbour on the morning of 11 April for the voyage north. The action group attempted to cancel or further delay the sinking of the warship, requesting that the New South Wales Ombudsman
An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
investigate the government's handling of the artificial reef project, filing a summons in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales
The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales is a court within the Australian court hierarchy established pursuant to the to hear environmental, development, building and planning disputes. The Court’s jurisdiction, confined to the state ...
on the afternoon of 12 April, and asking an Aboriginal 'whale caller' to summon humpback whale
The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hump ...
s to the planned wreck site.[Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ''HMAS Adelaide en route to final destination''][McMahon, ''Dolphins delay scuttling of HMAS Adelaide''] Despite this, the sinking went ahead just before midday on 13 April, after being delayed by over an hour by a pod of dolphins inside the exclusion zone.[ After the scuttling charges were fired, ''Adelaide'' submerged within two minutes.][Westbrook, ''Dolphins frolic, protesters sunk as frigate sent to the bottom'']
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*Senate Select Committee Inquiry into A Certain Maritime Incident
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adelaide (FFG 01)
Adelaide-class frigates
Ships built in Seattle
1978 ships
Ships sunk as dive sites
Scuttled vessels of New South Wales
Maritime incidents in 2011
Underwater diving sites in Australia