HMAS ''Moresby'', named for the explorer Captain

John Moresby Rear Admiral John Moresby (15 March 1830 – 12 July 1922) was a British naval officer who explored the coast of New Guinea and was the first European to discover the site of Port Moresby. Life and career Moresby was born in Allerford, Somerset ...

, was a hydrographic survey 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 o ...

(RAN). Serving in the RAN from 1964 to 1998,Wilson, Michael; Royal Australian Navy 21st Century Warships, Naval auxiliaries 1911 to 1999 including Defence Maritime Services, Profile No. 4 - Revised Edition , Topmill Pty Ltd, Marrickville. , p. 37 ''Moresby'' was then sold into civilian service. Renamed MV ''Patricia Anne Hotung'', the ship was chartered by the

International Organisation for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM was ...

Construction

''Moresby'' was launched at the State Dockyard, Newcastle on 7 September 1963 by the wife of Rear Admiral Gatacre. She was commissioned into the RAN on 6 March 1964. ''Moresby'' was the only ship of her class to be constructed.

Operational history

Throughout her career in the RAN, ''Moresby'' sailed over 1 million miles, and carried out surveys of

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

, the D'Entrecasteaux Channel in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Exmouth Gulf Exmouth Gulf is a gulf in the north-west of Western Australia. It lies between North West Cape and the main coastline of Western Australia. It is considered to be part of the Pilbara Coast and Northwest Shelf, and the Carnarvon Basin geolo ...

Wilsons Promontory Wilsons Promontory, is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland, located in the state of Victoria. South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia. Located at nea ...

and the Gulf of Papua.

Decommissioning and civilian service

In October 1999, ''Moresby'' was sold to Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist Eric Hotung via Caravelle Investments Limited of Hong Kong for A$584,985. She was renamed MV ''Patricia Anne Hotung'', and underwent a A$1 million refit at Maritime Engineers in Fremantle, Western Australia, enabling the ship to carry 500 passengers and 2,021 tons of cargo. ''Patricia Anne Hotung'' sailed in support of the

(IOM), and transported approximately 10,000 refugees from the

West Timor West Timor ( id, Timor Barat) is an area covering the western part of the island of Timor, except for the district of Oecussi-Ambeno (an East Timorese exclave). Administratively, West Timor is part of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The ...

camps 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-w ...

between January 2000 and 24 July 2001. IOM Director General

Brunson McKinley Brunson McKinley (born 1943) is a Co-Chair of the Association for International Mobility (AIM) and was the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (elected to back to back terms in October 1998 and 2003). He was the fir ...

described the ship's role as "invaluable" and "a remarkable contribution to the international humanitarian effort to bring East Timorese refugees home to begin rebuilding their devastated country"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moresby Survey ships of the Royal Australian Navy 1963 ships Ships built in New South Wales