HMAS ''Flinders'' (GS 312/A 312), named for

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

(1774–1814), was a

hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/offshore oil drilling and related activities. Strong emphasis is placed ...

ship of 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). Built by

HMA Naval Dockyard Williamstown Dockyard was one of Australia's principal ship building yards at Williamstown, Victoria, Australia. The Colony of Victoria decided to construct a large slipway at Williamstown to provide ship repair facilities in 1856 and the Governm ...

Williamstown, Victoria Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hobsons Bay local government area. Williamstown recorded a population of 14,407 at the 2021 census. H ...

, ''Flinders'' was commissioned into the RAN in 1973, and was used to conduct

s in the waters to Australia's north, including parts of New Guinea. In 1974, the ship was tasked with assisting clean up efforts in the wake of

Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city initially, but then turned t ...

, which devastated large parts of Darwin. The ship was decommissioned in 1998 and sold to civilian operators, who have since converted her into a private yacht in the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

Construction and design

The ship was ordered in 1970 to replace the light survey vessel .Gillett, ''Australian and New Zealand Warships Since 1946'', p. 101 ''Flinders'' was in

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 ...

, with a beam of , a draught of , and 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 740 tons. Propulsion was provided by two Paxman Ventura diesel motors connected to twin screws, providing a top speed of and a range of at . The hull was all-welded, and designed to Australian Shipping Board standards for coastal operations. Increased

seakeeping Seakeeping ability or seaworthiness is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions when underway. A ship or boat which has good seakeeping ability is said to be very seaworthy and is able to operate effectively even in high sea stat ...

ability was imparted through a

bulbous bow A bulbous bow is a protruding bulb at the bow (or front) of a ship just below the waterline. The bulb modifies the way the water flows around the hull, reducing drag and thus increasing speed, range, fuel efficiency, and stability. Large ships ...

, high

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

, and a stabilising system. Most operations were intended to be in the waters of Australia and Papua New Guinea, although ''Flinders'' was also capable of limited

oceanographic Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ...

work. The ship's company consisted of 38 personnel, and ''Flinders'' carried light-calibre weapons for self-defence. ''Flinders'' was laid down by

, in February 1971.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 393 She was launched on 29 July 1972 and commissioned into the RAN on 27 April 1973.Gillett, ''Australian and New Zealand Warships Since 1946'', p. 102 The ship cost $2,600,000.Gillett & Graham, ''Warships of Australia'', p. 274.

Operational history

On commissioning, the ship was based in Cairns, and afterwards was used to undertake

s to Australia's north. Following the destruction of Darwin by

during the night of 24–25 December 1974, ''Flinders'' was deployed as part of the relief effort;

Operation Navy Help Darwin Operation Navy Help Darwin was a disaster relief operation initiated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) following the destruction of Darwin, Northern Territory by Cyclone Tracy during the night of 24–25 December 1974. 13 ships, 11 aircraft, an ...

. She sailed from Cairns on 26 December, and as the first ship to arrive, ''Flinders'' was tasked with surveying the harbour to work out the position of wrecks and the safest areas for the other RAN ships to anchor. The majority of ''Flinders'' survey work was undertaken off the Queensland coast, but in 1976 she undertook operations in the Dampier Strait, in New Guinea waters. From 1980 to 1983 she operated off the coasts of Queensland and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

under

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

. In 1982, Bond and ''Flinders'' discovered, surveyed and charted the Hydrographers Passage, providing a faster, more efficient route through the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

for merchant shipping. ''Flinders'' was decommissioned in 1998. In October 1999, the ship was sold at auction for A$518,460 to a New Zealand consortium. She was remodelled into a private yacht, and now operates as MY ''Plan B'', registered in the

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flinders (A 312) Survey ships of the Royal Australian Navy 1972 ships Ships built in Victoria (state)